Perfect Strangers
by aquaxeyes
Summary: It's been two years since Serena Moore has heard anything from her old high school crush, Darien Matthews. When he finally makes contact, she is forced to face his version of the truth and her feelings for someone she thought she knew. But will this..
1. part one

**Title:** Perfect Strangers  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language  
**Full Description:** It's been two years since Serena Moore has heard anything from her old high school crush, Darien Matthews. When he finally makes contact, she is forced to face his version of the truth and her feelings for someone she thought she knew. But will this long overdue confrontation prove they're perfect together or perfect strangers?

* * *

**Author's Notes:** It's me again, writing another story I might not finish! 

Semi-regretfully, I will be using the American dub names and maybe some new characters, but I'm sure that it won't make too much of a difference since it's AU and all. I apologize for any coarse and vulgar language I may use; I'm trying to make this as realistic as possible.

Heehee, FYI: this fic was inspired by recent true events in collaboration with Emma Bunton's third solo album, "Life in Mono". In fact, the title of this fic is named after one of her songs. And it is true, I share this title with another talented author on FanFiction, but I want you ladies and gents to know I have no intention of using the same storyline, though it is quite similar. This is a story I have been working on at work (yeah, it gets pretty boring at a café, people) for two weeks and hasn't been influenced by FanFiction at all, so umm.. yeah.

Before you get to reading, please remember I'll be updating as fast as things happen in real life. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Part One. The Message.**

* * *

Serena sighed, staring at the screen and the message it displayed. 

_**"Hey Serena...**_

_**Don't really know what to say, not sure on how the terms that we left off on are. Uncomfortable for me. But you were an awesome friend in high school and I would love to hear how you are doing.**_

_**Sorry if I built a wall instead of a bridge.**_

_**Darien."**_

She reread his carefully chosen words many times, until they didn't make sense anymore.

Then again, it didn't make sense. It had been two years since graduation, two years since she saw his very unforgettable face.

She had never been the sentimental type, so she hadn't stayed in contact with many people from high school. It wasn't until someone from college introduced her to Reunion, a dot-com networking site where high school alumni could keep in touch with those they had graduated with. Reluctantly, she joined, but she rarely checked her account.

Slowly, people from high school started to send her friend requests, people she never thought would remember her. After all, she wasn't a cheerleader or a class politician. She wasn't even the class geek. She was a nobody, a girl who blended fine with everybody but never really fit in anywhere.

Which brought her back to Darien. Darien Matthews, the cute boy every girl wanted to date. He was a full six inches taller than her, with dark, thick hair that curled just a bit at the ends. He had the perfect physique and the softest blue eyes which, with one swift glance, could make girls swoon. Serena laughed, remembering a fairly pitiable redhead by the name of Molly Sanders who would do just that.

His presence was intoxicating, his smile, devastating. He was flawless.

The one thing that had caught Serena, though, wasn't his smile, or his hair, or anything on a physical level for that matter. It was that fact that girls loved him and guys wanted to be him, and he was completely unaware of it. He either didn't notice, didn't care or simply chose to ignore it. But Serena noticed.

She had to admit, she was curious back then, or rather, futilely attracted to some_thing_--yes, some_thing_ and not some_one_ because in all actuality, she was merely attracted to the idea of him. What she came to find was that Darien was not what she imagined he'd be. He was human, with all sorts of quirks and worst of all, the capability to ruin the last three years of her high school career.

That was then.

Now, four years later, she was a matured, twenty-year-old version of the flat-chested blonde she'd been in high school. She'd forgotten all about her lonely life as a high school student, and the only thing that came as a shock, other than hearing from Darien after two whole years, was the fact that he was back in town for college.

She sat comfortably on her bed, staring at the twelve-inch screen of her laptop, fingers hovering over the keyboard. She was thinking of how to be cruel, how to call him "a selfish pig" and say "how dare you try to talk to me as if nothing happened".

An hour passed, and she got up, stretched her back and arms, stared at her response one more time, and went to make dinner.

_**"Hey no problem, I don't remember much about high school really, I hope I wasn't the reason we stopped talking..?**_

_**There's not much going on with me, just school and work to pass time. Didn't know you were at the community college, though. Hope you're doing good. Anyway, it was good to hear from you! Take care.**_

_**Serena."**_

* * *

Darien sighed, reading her reply. A thousand questions ran through his mind, and then he shook his head. "She doesn't mean it." 

It took him months to gather all the courage he could to stop merely looking at her profile and actually send her a friend request, and she answered with some quick, perky message about how she didn't remember anything. He knew that it couldn't have been farther from the truth.

But that was just like Serena Moore, to be so nice even though she wanted to be so callous. She wore her heart on her sleeve and had every emotion written on her face. And no matter how painfully obvious it was, she always concealed what she felt.

Which meant she was probably very volatile at the moment.

He wasn't stupid, he knew he hurt her all those years ago. Worse yet, he knew that she had feelings for him and hurt her nonetheless. If he could graduate from high school, leave town and go to a different college, come back after two years and still be haunted about what he did, he wondered how she had been handling it.

He had considered that sending a vague message himself may not have been a good idea, but he wanted to know if she still begrudged him after all this time. And now, her answer had left him deprived and wanting more.

Fingers ready to tap away, he stopped. _'No,' _he thought to himself, _'This is all wrong. Am I overstepping my bounds? After all, I did just message her out of the blue, and I'm expecting her to just forgive me?' _He almost snorted at his arrogance.

They weren't in high school anymore. Serena wasn't going to forgive him just because he talked to her. He was actually going to have to try and make amends.. which he, of course, didn't know how to do.

_'First things first,' _he said, closing the internet browser and closing his laptop, _'She needs to open up to me first. Until then, I need to give her her space.. Damn.'_

* * *

Two days passed before memories began to resurface from Serena's mind. 

The first one came to her on the drive to school, about the first time she saw Darien. He was eating lunch with the only two people he ever hung around with at school, Lita and Melvin Wright. Cousins, Serena remembered, but complete opposites. Lita was a rambunctious, outspoken girl who was taller than most of the boys at school--save for Darien and his best friend Andrew--while Melvin was a quiet, reserved dork. It had only been a quick aversion of eyes, but it changed everything.

Serena shook her head then, trying to focus on the road. But the reminiscent feeling remained with her the rest of the day.

The second memory came to her in the shower after work, three days later. It was of the day she spoke to him for the first time, which had been a couple of months after that first glance. She didn't understand why she was so breathless, why her palms were sweating and her knees were shaking, just by talking to him. She hadn't understood that she was quickly falling in love with a stranger she created in her mind, a stranger who epitomized perfection.

Frustrated with those lingering feelings she cut her shower short and began to get ready for her second job, hoping that it would distract her from her current thoughts. She wound up ripping her comb through her hair so hard she practically lost patches.

Come Friday, a full week had passed, and she was more worn down by nostalgia than two jobs and school. Packing her bags, she drove to see her sister, Mina.

Mina was Serena's elder by a year and eleven months, but the two were so similar in looks and mannerisms that people confused them or thought they were twins. They were very close, but had to readjust to Mina's new job as a women's sports magazine intern in a city one hundred or so miles away. However, they decided to alternate visiting each other every other weekend, Mina going back home one week and Serena driving out to her apartment the next.

When she got there, Mina left a note on the kitchen counter, saying she was assisting her editor and friend, Ami Lier, with her front cover layout designs and would be back in a few hours.

With nothing else to do but surf the internet, Serena logged back on to Reunion and reread her and Darien's two-message conversation. It made her bury her head in her hands and groan, "Why does this bother me so much?"

The answer was clear. Darien Matthews was her high school crush. He was the first guy to ever break her heart. He also was an opportunist. Her reasoning? _'He_ had _to message me when I've been over him for a long time.'_

She furrowed her brow. "He's not going to get away with this."

And so she messaged him back.

**_"I've decided I'm not going to lie, I don't know why you remember me as such an 'awesome' friend since you talked bad about me. And if you wanted to message me expecting me to hate you or something, that's not the case. I probably shouldn't have told you it was okay in the first place, but I figured you needed to hear that for some peace of mind._**

**_If there was something you needed to get off your chest, you might as well be up front about it. It's not like you could hurt my feelings now."_**

Satisfied, she logged off and left Mina's apartment in search of food. Yes, comfort food, for a stab in Serena's gut she knew she couldn't fill without his answers.

* * *

"Wow." That was all he could say. Serena pretty much laid everything in front of him, and he was just too overwhelmed. 

Darien didn't know if he should've been flattered or thoroughly insulted. He knew she wasn't going to leave things like she did in her last message--he knew _he_ wouldn't have had he been in her shoes--but he didn't expect her to be that straightforward. _'Since when was she ever direct?'_

He threw his hands up at the last sentence. **_'It's not like you could hurt my feelings now.'_**

Like her, he wasn't going to lie, he remembered the last time she tried to call him. It was after graduation, and he had already made sure she wouldn't approach him ever again. But his phone rang, sure enough, and it was her. He was with his backstabbing friends at the time, so he ignored her call.

That night, he saw that he had a voicemail from her. In it, Serena basically said that she thought he was a great friend, that she was sure he knew she had a crush on him and that she hoped things worked out for him in the future even though they weren't friends.

That should have been a wake-up call for him. It had only turned him off even more.

But back to her message, which was his main issue at hand. Maybe it made him feel restless that he no longer had any power over her. Maybe it made him feel less important and that she really thought so lowly of him. No matter, he was bothered by it.

For twelve minutes he worked on a message that was clear, concise, and just as hurtful as hers--depending on if she still cared to listen to him or not--and deleted it. _'Damn.' _He was thinking along those lines a lot lately.

* * *

Serena successfully forgot about her Darien troubles for the weekend. With her sister's non-stop crazy life and a friend-slash-magazine-editor like Ami, Mina had proved to be a fun distraction for her. By the time Serena came back into town, she was calm and collected and on the verge of forgetting about Darien Matthews for the second time post-graduation.. when she received a response that Friday. 

**_"Serena,_**

**_I have nothing to get off my chest. I wrote you knowing you weren't the one that had done wrong. I wrote you hoping to be able to apologize. In high school all of my relationships were guarded and about the interpretation of things not said. I don't know what else I can say other than sorry._**

**_I am sorry. I know it took a long time, but now I do care about what I did with your feelings. A lot changed when I got to college. Convenience is not my motive in friendship now. That is why I wrote._**

**_I want to be a friend to you for the first time now. But I can't prove that with any amount of words. We should meet up sometime._**

**_Darien."_**

_'What the hell does all of this mean?' _She wanted to yell. Before she got carried away, she noticed something he said in the middle of his rant.

**_"Convenience is not my motive in friendship now."_**

She read that sentence aloud, wondering where she heard something like that before. Scrolling in her public comment history with some friends, she caught it.

**_"Friends just seem to be there when it's convenient, and when you're really grasping for straws they're looking the other way and still trying to find their own fun. It's hard because when you're trying to be serious, nobody seems to like it."_**

That's what she said to another old high school alumni the day after she sent Darien that new message. She scrolled to the latest public comments on that girl's page and made a face; Darien was the last person to leave a comment. _'Umm.. can someone say STALKER?!'_

She wanted to smile at the fact that he was reading what she said. At the same time, she couldn't help like he was throwing what she said in her face. That, and she didn't know if she could take him seriously.

"What the hell does all of this mean?"

"That's what I'm wondering.. Gah!" Serena jumped upon seeing Mina peering over her shoulder. "Mina!"

Mina appeared to be unfazed by Serena's near-death shock. With a stern look she began. "Serena Jane Moore, do not tell me you're tracking that jerk, Darien Matthews, down!"

"Ummm," Serena said, trying to understand what her sister was saying, "That's not what's going on here--"

"Explain," Mina said, crossing her arms and watching her sister with narrowed eyes.

"Mina Faith Moore, if you do not stop looking at me like that I swear I'll--"

"Explain."

Serena sighed. Mina could be more stubborn and adamant than a mule. "Okay, you fruitfly. Darien tracked _me_ down."

"What?"

"Yeah, you heard me. Darien found me and sent me a message," Serena said smugly, feeling like she was gaining the upper hand for the first time in the conversation.

Mina's eyes widened and like magic, she was excited Mina again. "Let's see, let's see," she said, practically clapping her hands in pleasure.

"Dork," Serena muttered, but showed Mina the online messages.

Two minutes revealed a smirking Mina. "What?" Serena sighed, weary of her sisters varying expressions.

"I knew he'd come crawling back," she said, then giggled maniacally.

Serena arched her brow. "I doubt that. Very much so."

"Oh, nevermind that," Mina said, clicking on Darien's profile and going through his pictures, "What do you think?"

"Honestly?"

"Obviously."

Serena crossed her arms, staring at Darien's matured face. He no longer was a cute boy. He had morphed into a handsome young man with the same albeit matured features. "Ugh," she groaned, locking her arms over stomach, "Why did he still have to look good after all this time?"

Mina laughed. "Oh, dear. She's getting it bad."

Serena hmph'd and moved around Mina to get back to what she was planning on doing, which was writing to Darien. "That couldn't be further from the truth."

* * *

_**"I don't think either of us are at fault for things that happened a long time ago. There will always be things we'd wish we could have handled differently. **_

I understand that you may be sorry, but you don't have to prove it to me. I take your word for it. I just didn't want this to happen, to hear from you and have high school brought up again. Everything was very forgettable, but now I'm starting to remember why I was so upset.

I never got to ask you if what Andrew said was true, that you only talked to me in the first place because of a bet or something like that. It sounds logical, even though it came from him, but it would explain a few things.

I never really understood you, only tried to understand the things you did, but if you answered that, at least we wouldn't be perfect strangers."

Darien's face was grim. It stayed that way as he typed.

Did he know what and who she was talking about? Yes. Andrew Prince, his best friend. The boy who won Serena's heart, at least for a little while. He was blonde, he was cute, and he had a way with the ladies. But he only wanted Serena.

Darien remembered when Serena tried to talk to him for the first time. She approached him after school in the hallway, with only a few people lingering behind. He was bored with her, itching to get back to Andrew to have a quick snack before soccer practice. She wouldn't leave for another ten minutes or so, but when he spotted Andrew and began to complain about a strange blonde girl that tried to hit on him, Andrew's eyes were on her.

"She's gorgeous."

Darien scoffed. "Dude, she's creepy. I tried playing annoyed but she didn't get it."

"You're a hard guy to get," Andrew simply said, still starting at her. Twenty seconds later, he spoke again. "Her smile is beautiful."

He looked over and caught Serena mid-laugh with a girl who could've been her sister. The sound was like a light tinkling of bells, he'd give her that, but he didn't know why Andrew was so quickly fascinated with her. She was a nobody--the only reason he remembered her face was because she was in one of his classes.

"Whatever."

"Would you mind talking to her again?" Andrew blurted.

"What?" Darien was afraid his eyes would bug right out of their sockets.

"Only for a minute or something, enough time for me to join in the conversation and introduce myself," the blonde said, finally turning his head to raise his brows in anticipation.

Of course he had caved, he was a friend-pleaser and not his own person back then. And although he didn't talk to her because Andrew bet him to, he still didn't want the truth to slip.

To top it off, it sounded like any chance of apologizing to her in person would go down the drain if he didn't tell her. Therein, was the problem. _'What do I do? I don't want to hurt her feelings again, even if she said I couldn't.'_

_

* * *

_"So did he answer yet?" Mina's voice demanded over the phone after two days. 

"Hold on, I still have to log on," she replied.

Ten seconds passed. "So?"

"Hold on, fruitfly!"

"Don't call me that!"

Serena pulled the phone away from her ear, wincing. "Do you even know what I mean by that?"

"No."

She chuckled, looking at her new comments. "A fruitfly can't survive without flying over the top and getting in someone's face, pretty much making said person go crazy and asking to get smacked in the face."

Silence. "I suppose that's a little funny."

Serena would've laughed again had she not seen a new message in her inbox. Darien. Silently she opened it and began to read.

**_"It sounds logical... but even then I wouldn't have talked to someone based on a bet. I didn't understand much then either, especially about me. But now that I have started to figure that out, I understand what I didn't understand then, that I caused a lot of hurt._**

**_Once again you have no reason to believe me, not from all you know, not from my actions then. But you can give me a chance now."_**

"What did he say?" Mina perceptively asked.

Sobered, she read what he wrote aloud.

"Sounds like bullshit to me--"

"My sentiments exactly--"

"--is what I would say, obviously to make you feel better," Mina finished.

"Mina!"

Serena heard crinkling on the phone, Mina trying to suppress her laughter she imagined. Next, she heard, "Are you going to "give him a chance now"?"

"No."

"Why the hell not?"

"Mina," Serena almost yelled, exasperated, "I don't need another so-called friend to add to the total stressors in my life. Darien Matthews is trying to bring all this shit from high school up because he's going through some sort of epiphany. He just wants to see me to get every little wrong he's ever done off of his guilty conscience. I'd be doing him the favor."

"And you'd find resolution in whatever he decides to tell you."

"It's likely."

"Then does it matter what happens when you see him? You're not in high school anymore, Serena, he's not going to get to tell any of his little friends."

Serena clicked on Darien's profile, finding the picture she decided was her favorite--ahem, highly preferred--of him and stared into his midnight blue eyes.

"I'll sleep on it."

* * *

**_"Being friends sounds nice, but what will it accomplish? We haven't seen or talked to each other in two years.. we'd be going out of our way to do both. _**

And because of recent events, I guess I'm just not in the mood to invest trust in anyone. I think that in messaging me you were being very sincere, but I can't do this again."

"Damn, man," a handsome brunette turned and said to a somber Darien.

"What do I do, Melvin?" the raven-haired man asked, expectantly.

"Man, what can you do? She doesn't want anything to do with you," he said, plopping on Darien's couch and stretching out.

That struck a nerve in him. For some reason, he couldn't bear to hear that Serena would hate to see or talk to him ever again.

"Shouldn't I.. I don't know.. try to change her mind?"

Melvin tilted his head and made a face. "I don't know how you'd do that," he shrugged, "After all, this is Serena Moore we're talking about. She's always been headstrong."

Darien shook his head. "Not with me."

The brunette raised a brow to a provoking height. "There's a reason for that. At least, there was."

_'Damn, he's right.' _Serena didn't like him anymore, not as a boy, friend, or person. She didn't need him if she didn't want him. _'She's lived two years without you.. come on! You're being arrogant again, not to mention selfish.'_

"I just can't believe that's her," Melvin said, now at his side, checking Serena's profile picture out. "You'd think someone like her couldn't have wound up looking like that," he added with a low whistle.

While typing up his shortest response ever, Darien replied, "You should've heard what people said about you."

* * *

**_"Okay. I understand."_**

"That's all he said?" a dirty, short-haired blonde asked Serena.

"Yeah," she said blankly, her mind traveling in all sorts of directions.

"How long ago?" the girl asked.

"Three days, at oh-two-hundred hours Tenou-san," Serena said and saluted.

The girl known as Tenou-san nudged her in irritation. "You dork."

Serena laughed. Haruka Tenou was one of two people she spoke to at school. She met the Japanese foreign exchange student during her freshman year of college. They were in three of the four classes they had that semester--both were business majors. Serena, at the time, was a social butterfly, mixing with all sorts of people, but eventually those "friends" showed their true colors. After a scandalous summer, she wound up sharing another two classes with Haruka, and their friendship bloomed.

The only other person she talked to was Haruka's girlfriend Michiru Kaiou, another Japanese native and a music major.

That day, Serena dropped by their apartment to return a book she borrowed from Haruka, only to spill the story about Darien to her and Michiru. Unfortunately, Michiru had class, so she had to leave, but Haruka demanded she show her what she was talking about.

"I don't know what to think now," Serena said, ignoring the other blonde's comment.

Haruka smirked. "Don't pop a blood vessel over three words."

"Ha, very funny," she said, sending a glare the girl's way.

"Hey, don't magnum glare me, I just think you should've met up with him."

"Ugh!" Serena said, throwing her hands up in the air. "What is with you and Mina? "Just go meet him and get it over with." But you're both forgetting I don't want to see him!"

Haruka remained serene. "What's so horrible about it?"

"Well, for one, I've forgotten half of the reasons why I hated him. I don't hate him now, I'm just over it. And that's when he wants to rehash this shit with me," Serena said, standing up and pacing across the living room.

Haruka stood up, waited for Serena to come closer, then stopped her. She made sure to catch Serena's cornflower blue eyes before speaking. "Let's get one thing straight, although I'm not," she began and Serena let out a giggle. "You _do_ want to see Darien--"

"No--"

"Yes, you do. You're just worried that you might actually get answers, get to know him, and actually develop real feelings for him."

The blue-eyed blonde shook her head vigorously. "I could never feel anything real when it came to him. I doubt that could happen now."

* * *

Darien almost leapt out of his seat when he found a message from Serena in his inbox. 

**_"Name a place and time next week and I'll see what my work schedule's like."_**

"Did she write back?" Melvin's voice wafted from the living room.

"Yeah," he called back while typing, "How did you know?"

"You're not talking."

Darien rolled his eyes, sending his message out. "I need a new roommate," he muttered out loud.

**_"Does the Silver Moon at seven on Wednesday sound good?"_**

After he received confirmation that the note was sent, Darien responded to six new comments left on his profile--all from girls--before noticing he had a new message.

**_"Yeah, that's fine. I'll be there."_**

He thought twice about writing back with his number, but realized she didn't leave hers either. _'Well, I'm not going to give her mine so that she can call and cancel on me.'_

A lazy grin spread across his face. _'I'm going to see her soon.'_

_

* * *

_

**End Part One.**

_

* * *

_

A glimpse at the next chapter. Part Two. The Meeting.

His palms were starting to get a little clammy. _'Relax, man, it's just Serena.'_

At least that's the train of thought he had before she walked in.


	2. part two

**Title:** Perfect Strangers  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language  
**Full Description:** It's been two years since Serena Moore has heard anything from her old high school crush, Darien Matthews. When he finally makes contact, she is forced to face his version of the truth and her feelings for someone she thought she knew. But will this long overdue confrontation prove they're perfect together or perfect strangers?

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I had finals this week, otherwise I would have posted this up sooner, sorry! 

This chapter is dedicated to my mum and sister, who have been great supporters of my stories. Mwah.

Thank you for the wonderful responses! Definitely helped this week go more smoothly. And since FanFiction is acting up and not sending me messages anymore, I will respond to your reviews right now in case you might not get them either. **Sailormoon5645** (Thank you very much for proofreading! Hope you continue to do that in my future updates, since I sometimes forget and post without editing), **Kana07 **(Hopefully you were still waiting!), **aznxprincess06** (Haha, I do like turning things around, since it's so cliché to read about girls chasing guys), **lina** (Thank you!), **Cloud9WithSugar** (Thank you for reading this fic, too! It's great to know that you like this one), **serenity11287** (Same applies to you, thank you for reading this other fic. It means a lot!), **Beth Southard** (I'm glad to hear that!), **gina** (I think you were the first to ever call a fic of mine refreshing. Thanks!), **Queen C 86** (Heehee, thanks, you totally put a smile on my face!), **Amelia **(Thanks for calling this touching, but it was _your_ review that was touching!), **sarongxoxo **(Just had to finish the last of my finals.. now it's on to greater things!) and **rosebudjamie** (Thanks for the encouragement, hope you like this chapter!).

To those who do not have an account, if you would like to keep up with this story, you can leave your e-mail address on reviews and I will message you when I post an update (I promise I'm not a spammer.. or a perv!). If not, that's fine, but please continue to enjoy!

This fic is on 6 favorite lists and 21 alert lists. Part One received over 300 hits. Woohoo!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Part Two. The Meeting.  
_"Uh-oh.."_**

* * *

It was Wednesday. Seven-twelve. Darien was slowly going out of his mind. 

He spent the whole day pampering--yes, a full-grown, college-attending man had pampered--for this moment, and she wasn't here. He even showed up at the local café he had chosen half an hour early to reserve a good table and wind down with a cup of coffee. Forty-two minutes later, the table was reserved, the cup was downed, she was missing and his nerves were frazzled. _'She should've been here by now.'_

Seven-fourteen.

_'There's no way she could've read that wrong, no way.. Unless.. Is she standing me up?'_

_

* * *

__'I hope he doesn't think I'm standing him up,' _Serena thought as she pulled into the parking lot. It seemed that fate had chosen to ruin her day before giving Darien the chance to. 

It started with running late for class due to an early morning at work. She couldn't help it--she came home smelling like fifteen different alcoholic drinks and didn't want to continue smelling like a bar the rest of the day. So she showered, staying under the lukewarm water for a little longer than she should have, until she fell asleep.

The ringing of her cell phone from her bedroom woke her up, and when she stepped out and answered, Haruka was yelling at her to "get her ass down to class.. _fast_!" She looked at the clock then, her face a myriad of emotions as she realized she should've been out of the door instead of barely dry.

If that wasn't unpleasant enough, Serena ran from the parking lot all the way to class, only to disrupt a class _exam_. She turned beet red, approached and apologized to her professor, took an exam and bubble sheet and felt the world dooming her for her effort. She didn't know there was an exam scheduled that day, nor could she pull anything from memory.

She was practically in tears and was only fazedly sedated by Haruka's offer to take her to lunch. And by lunch she meant the donut shop. And the tears only started to dry after the fifth donut.

"It's all his fault!" Serena moaned, taking another donut from the box.

"Whose?" Haruka asked, very uncomfortably trying to soothe her friend.

"Darien's! He inserted himself back into my life and now I'm all out of sorts!" she wailed in between bites.

Haruka put on a good-humored smile. "Last I heard, all he did was send you a message."

Serena viciously took a bite and glared at her friend. "I mbknow!"

The teal-eyed companion's smile weakened. "Serena, are you starting to like Darien again?"

At this, the blue-eyed blonde snapped, "Of course not! I never really knew the guy and I sure as hell don't now!"

"Okay, okay," Haruka said, her hands going up in mock surrender. "Just making sure you're not being irrational over some guy."

"I'm completely rational right now!" she moaned, reaching for another donut.

"And that would be.."

"Seven."

"Ahh.."

"Say one more word, Tenou," Serena said, her free hand balling into a fist.

Twenty seconds passed in silence, until Serena made another imperceptible sound.

"Serena," Haruka began, "I know you're mad, but maybe you're not mad at Darien. Maybe it's not him at all."

The other blonde contemplated this, then decided to humor the suggestion. "Then who? Who else would I be this horrendously mad at?"

"What about Ben?"

Serena dropped her donut. "Ben.."

Ben Walker. The last man to have broken her heart. It had been months ago since they had been best friends and on the cusp of romantic lovers when she was abruptly informed that he had been engaged the entire time he was with her.. by his fiancée.

Her world had been shattered. Ben was her everything. She didn't hide anything from him, she couldn't. She gave him her trust, which meant a lot more than her heart, because her heart was easy to win and easy to break. Trust, complete and utterly blind trust? It was rare to earn that from her.

The worst part of the situation was when Ben's fiancée's phone cut off in the middle of their conversation, Serena was so desperate to protect him that she called _him _to ask what she should say to his betrothed. She was so willing to lie despite knowing that it would break that girl's heart, too. However, his phone was off, and he didn't call her back. Instead, she called his fiancée the next day and had to learn from her that he claimed she was lying about him being with her.

Serena cried for two weeks straight. She lost a lover, and she couldn't call her best friend because _he _was her best friend. Mina had just moved away and couldn't reach her during that time. With two huge and gaping holes in her heart, she was inconsolable.

Eight months later, she'd made it. Had she not she wouldn't have been sitting with Haruka in a donut shop, about to scarf down another tasty pastry. But did she had to agree with Haruka about her confusion, was she projecting her pent up anger toward Ben on Darien?

Haruka didn't look like she knew what to make of Serena's silence, so she started again. "Not saying you don't have any right to be mad, but maybe you're mad at the wrong guy--"

"No, no. That makes sense," Serena agreed and let go of excess air. "I guess I am getting angry at the wrong person. At least Darien's trying to talk me."

"See?"

Serena nodded, smiled, then finished the donut she had dropped. "Domo, Haruka. You're the best."

Haruka crossed her arms and shook her head. "Just making sure you don't wolf another dozen down."

Serena left then, tired from work, an exam she was sure she failed and crying for an hour. When she got home, she lagged over to her bed and fell into a deep sleep.

Once again, her phone roused her from her slumber. This time it was Mina. "Just thought you could use some pep talk before meeting you-know-who."

"What time is it?" Serena mumbled, rubbing her eyes.

"Six-forty."

"Shit!"

"Umm.. right. I'll let you go," Mina said, hanging up on her own accord.

Serena scrambled to the bathroom and almost died. Her hair was a mess, she slept her makeup off, and her clothes were wrinkled. In a whirlwind of actions that would have put the Sims to shame, she clothed herself in her favorite jeans which were splayed across the floor, a shirt she barely registered as pink and a pair of black espadrilles. She ran her hands through her hair twice, pulling some from the left side to the right and pinning it with a barette.

As far as she was concerned, her face was irreparable. Her eyes had lost the redness of crying, but she didn't have time to do anything dramatic. Instead, she opted to swipe her lashes with mascara, pinch her cheeks for a subtle blush, and dab a bit of lip gloss on. She gave herself one last glance before running out the door. _'Wait for me..'_

Traffic didn't seem to want to help her out that day, either. But for all her honking and flipping people off, she made it to the downtown café in one piece and in under seventeen minutes.

As she put her car in park, the reality of the situation poured in. _'Oh god.. I'm about to see Darien. Darien Matthews. Oh god.. BREATHE!'_

* * *

He wasn't desperate. Not yet. He figured he'd wait for a full hour and if she wasn't there by eight, he would take it like a prepubescent boy and go home. 

Honestly, he was both hoping it would happen and scared that it would. He could live without seeing Serena.. maybe.. but his curiosity was at an all time high. Was she exactly the young woman she had portrayed herself to be on her profile? Was she softer than before, or cruel perhaps?

A silver Ford Contour pulled into a parking spot just outside and his head immediately angled. _'Is it..?'_

Golden strands. That's all he needed to see to know that it was her. _'Serena. Serena Moore. Shit!'_

Suddenly he felt very self-conscious. _'Hair fine? Anything in my teeth?' _He mentally slapped himself for that one, since he had brushed twice before leaving his apartment and had only had that cup of coffee since. He shifted in his seat, trying to find a nice, relaxing pose that she could walk upon.

Six poses were made, and when he found one that was suitable, he realized she hadn't stepped in yet. Midnight blue eyes looked up, scanning the area.. and she was still sitting in her car!

One feminine hand rested on the steering wheel, an indication that-- _'Hell no,' _he thought to himself, _'She's chickening out!'_

Anger coursed through his veins, anger laced with despair. _'She can't do this to me! I never.. I never got to tell her--'_

A car door slamming broke his mental tirade. Doubtful, he checked to see if her car was still there, and if the inhabitant was gone. _'Check. Check. And..' _She was walking to the café! He rejoiced for that small victory--that wasn't even his--and frowned when his adrenaline rush began to fade. He looked down and was further surprised. _'Umm..?'_

His palms were starting to get a little clammy. _'Relax, man, it's just Serena.'_

At least that's the train of thought he had before she walked in.

Jeans that outlined her toned legs. A pink and lacy babydoll tank that somehow screamed sweet and racy at the same time. Hair cascading down to her elbows. A pink-tinged pout under baby blue eyes that were looking directly at him. Everything put together and he couldn't breathe. _'Uh-oh..'_

The sight of her was suddenly blocked, and he was staring straight into the cleavage of another girl. Disturbed, he lifted his eyes and found them staring into the face of his waitress.

"I was just wondering if you needed anything else," she inquired, her voice pitched higher than the first time she came around.

Disappointed by the distraction, he murmured, "Not right now, thank you." He didn't want that to come out as husky as it sounded, but watching Serena did a number on him. _'Damn. Better catch my voice before she comes over.'_

A satisfied grin spread wide across the waitress's face, she left, revealing a pissed off-looking Serena.

* * *

(**A/N:** And the moment we've all been waiting for.. POV collision!) 

Serena was pretty pissed off. Not only was Darien actually there, waiting for her, he was more handsome than any old picture could've tried to clone. And she wasn't the only girl who knew it, every girl in the damn café was checking him out! She watched as some waitress approached him, dipping her back just enough to expose her well-endowed chest, and simmered as he softly replied to her. _'That womanizing jackass!'_

She stomped over to his table, ready to give him a piece of her mind as soon as the waitress stepped out of her way and when she did.. _'Uh-oh..'_

How was she to know that the closer she got, the better he looked? She hadn't seen the boy--no, man--in two years! And she was grown up enough to know that hormones were trying to overpower her, begging her to just grab him and kiss him.

Darien definitely was the most arousing man she had ever laid eyes on. Light-washed jeans and a white button-up did him justice, so much so that she was starting to believe _he_ made the outfit look good and not the other way around. And that damn sexy black hair!

_'Ack, stop thinking like this!' _she silently moaned. _'Who cares if he has better, more kissable lips than Brad Pitt? He's still Darien!'_

Darien watched as Serena's face turned from angry to unreadable. Wasn't she happy to see him? _'Not really.. She looks like she could be attending a funeral!'_

_'Okay, as long as he doesn't look-slash-smile at or touch me, I'll be fine..'_

Determined to bring a smile to her face, Darien spoke first. "It's good to see you, too," he teasingly said, smiling and leaning over to give her a hug. He noticed how she immediately stiffened in his arms, but was too overwhelmed by her beauty, the warmth he felt in his chest and her jasmine scent to complain.

_'Holy shit. Why doesn't this feel weird?' _She couldn't understand why she didn't instinctively push him away and say, "Okay, Matthews, let's get to the point. Why do you want to see me now, after two whole years?" It should've been easy for her, really. She was used to making scenes and being an ass, so why did she get mulled over by his simple and friendly gesture?

Slowly, she pulled away, head kept down. She heard him say "please, have a seat", and numbly did as she was instructed.

_'"Please, say something" would've been a better suggestion,' _he realized when she had yet to utter a word. He took a seat himself, right across from her and suppressed a frown. _'What's this? She won't even look me in the eye?'_

Serena wasn't sure she had the mental capacity to look at him dead on. In high school, she only saw him in angles, side views as he walked past her, back views as he walked away. But never, not even when she was talking to him, did she look at his entire face. She'd look at her shoes or at the walls, anything but those midnight blue eyes.

_'Come on, you pride yourself on being such a strong, independent woman! And you're supposed to be over him, right?'_

Slowly Serena's head tilted up. At an even slower pace her full eyelids lifted, and her crystal blue eyes met his. Darien cursed himself for not being careful about what he wished for. _'Ahh.. Awkward.' _By instinct, his mouth took control. "I'm glad you decided to meet up with me, although for a minute there, you looked like a deer caught in headlights."

She could've died. _'Why the_ hell _would he point that out?!' _Fuming, she came to the conclusion that he found her reaction to him funny. _'Must be some sort of compliment for his ego.' _That thought made her blood boil. _'Alright, Matthews, think you can handle this?'_

With a simple smile, she spoke. "Of course, after seeing you openly _ogle_ that waitress's cleavage like it was the grand canyon, I felt that I should've acted embarrassed for you."

_'What the hell was that?' _he wondered, almost letting his jaw drop at her sudden retort. The first thing she verbally said to him, and it was an insult! Feeling that male part of him that had to defend his ego rise, he retaliated. "Actually, I was looking around for _you_ and she just happened to step into my peripheral view."

_'Pompous ass!' _"Try making that sound believable."

_'Un-believable!' _"Do I have to pull her aside to ask her and prove it to you?"

"No, thanks. I'd hate to embarrass you twice." She watched as his jaw locked, clenching in silence. _'Serves him right!'_

Darien wasn't used to this quick-witted, audacious Serena. He was used to the soft-spoken, pliant Serena. Not only did it scare the hell out of him to sit across a person different than what he had made her out to be, it turned him _on_. Which was a horrible mix if any level-headed man gave it a thought. Unfortunately for Darien, logic, when it came to women, was not really his forte, especially when it came to this blonde minx sitting prim and proper before him, raising a provocative eyebrow. "Although I find that you've grown into a beautiful young woman--"

"Thank you."

"--you have the mouth of a succubus."

_'Well that was uncalled for!' _she flared, but she wasn't backing down. She smiled as fate, in the form of that very waitress they were talking about, began walking over to them to flash Darien for the second time. "I take it you're calling me easy?"

The waitress had stopped mid-stride, watching as a rosy pink color sprung forth from the apples of Darien's cheeks. Serena wanted to let out the most evil of laughs. For years he had been the one to make her blush and now, she had finally gotten him to produce a little color on her behalf.

But it almost wasn't enough, she had come to think, for all the times he had embarrassed her. She suddenly remembered how he had ignored her in school even after they had become friends, passing her in class or in the hallways without so much as a glance. Now that she had his attention, and now that she felt she had some control over what kind of ass she could publicly make of Darien, she wanted more. She craved it.

Darien almost jolted as Serena suddenly stood up, glaring at him. The loud scratch of her chair scraping fast against the floor caused everyone to look at them as well. In a few enunciated sentences, Serena loudly ranted. "Is that why you asked me to meet you here, to call me a whore and embarrass me in front of all these people, when all I ever did was give you a second chance? Shows what judge of character I am. Well guess what, Darien? You're never going to hurt me again!"

He could've felt bad, he really could have, with everyone looking at him like he was the jerk of the century. Serena's spiel was emotional, causing the females in the room to shake their heads in sympathy. It was calculated, enough to attract male attention, for they all seemed to be looking over at him like they wanted to pound his face in. But the speech, at least to him, didn't reach her eyes.

They were glittering with mock tears, but he could see right through them, and through her self-righteous act. This wasn't about calling her a succubus, it was about embarrassing him. And she seemed to be accomplishing it, letting a devilish grin slip for him to catch before waltzing out of the café.

He sat for a split second, contemplating the options. _'I could wring her soft neck for saying those things. I could grab her unexpectedly, throw her over my shoulder, and stomp around downtown until I find a suitable place to drop her off--preferrably far, far away from her car. Without her shoes. Or I could..'_

For the onlookers, it would have looked as though a lovesick man had come across a realization, that he couldn't bear letting his girlfriend go, and promptly bolted outside after her. Especially when he pulled her arm, whirling her around and bringing her into a kiss she first struggled against then eventually gave into. It couldn't, as Serena would say, have been further from the truth.

The blonde in question, had been innocently celebrating her victory at finally telling Darien off with a little giggle, when she was wrenched around and kissed with a passion so strong her heart almost stopped beating. When it started again, she jerked in his arms, realizing what he was doing. He was using his _very_ decent kissing skills to get back at her.

She struggled against him viciously, using her hands to push against his well-muscled chest. It was to no avail. _'Fine!' _she fumed, her left hand pulling his neck closer and her right angling his head, _'If he wants a kiss, he'll get a kiss!'_

The raven-haired man thought it was a good idea, to chase after her and pretend like they were making up in front of the observing crowd. It would have been a great attempt at saving face--a habit he'd had since high school. Yet he didn't expect to feel a jolt run down his spine upon touching her glossy lips. From that moment, his body had taken over, deliberately enveloping her in his arms in an effort to be molded to her.

He was even more stunned when she stopped wiggling about and pulled him closer, massaging his bottom lip with hers until he groaned and she took the initiative to deepen the kiss.

Her scent was sweet. Her mouth was sweeter. He was sure she was trying to throw this liplock back in his face, but coming to her senses made him lose his.

Serena could feel another sweet victory at hand, but that was before she heard him make that extremely animalistic sound. It made her heart flutter and race as she felt his thunderous heartbeat against her chest. She was swelling with an amazing amout of primal desire no previous man, not even Ben, could induce.

Before she could even question what she was really trying to prove, he pulled back, breaking the kiss, and stared into her eyes. They had darkened and become unreadable. In a few swift motions he had place his arm securely around her shoulders.

"Let's take a walk," he said before moving her forward. She stumbled in protest, and was trying to stand her ground, but he added, "You could follow willingly or over my shoulder." _'Uh-oh..'_

_

* * *

_

**End Part Two.**

_

* * *

_

A glimpse at the next chapter. Part Three. The Talk.

Her heart slammed into her chest as she read the next line.

**_"I want to see you again."_**


	3. part three

**Title:** Perfect Strangers  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language  
**Full Description:** It's been two years since Serena Moore has heard anything from her old high school crush, Darien Matthews. When he finally makes contact, she is forced to face his version of the truth and her feelings for someone she thought she knew. But will this long overdue confrontation prove they're perfect together or perfect strangers?

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I had finals the week I wanted to finish this, and then a ton of graduations I had to attend, otherwise I would have posted this up sooner, sorry! But since I've made you wait so long, I figured I'd lengthen this chapter for you.

This chapter is dedicated to my mum and sister, who have been great supporters of my stories. Mwah.

Again I promise I'm not a spammer or a hentai, but if you do not have an account and would like to keep up with this story, you can leave your e-mail address on reviews and I will message you when I post an update. If not, that's fine, but please continue to enjoy!

Special thanks to: **Sailormoon5645**-2, **rosebudjamie**-2, **aznxprincess06**-2, **serenity11287**-2, **Kana07**, **Saigo no Megami**, **supersaiyanx**, **Champion of Justice**, **pheobesapphira**, **serenity**-2, and **Crescentangel89**. I would send you ladies and gents personal messages but it's quite late and I'm going to go to bed after posting this.

This fic is on 11 favorite lists and 27 alert lists and has had over 1000 hits. Fantastic!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Part Three. The Talk.  
_"Thank you for showing me that nothing has changed."_**

* * *

Serena felt like a rag doll, limbs limp and under the control of a force much greater than herself as Darien nudged at her to keep walking. He hadn't said a word since he threatened to kidnap her and she.. well, she was at a loss for words. _'I suppose that wasn't the smartest thing to do.' _She could admit it to herself but never to Darien, not with his face looking so grim and so appealing.

He turned another corner, hoping that on this street he could recollect himself. It proved to be an unbearably hard task, what with that flippant girl under his arm. Her silence, as it did in the café, was wreaking havoc on his self-composure. He watched her blank face with contempt. _'Honestly! All I wanted to do was apologize in person. Did she have to be so damn stubborn?'_

Just as he was about to voice his thoughts, she spoke. "I know I deserved that, but don't you think that was a little.. extreme?"

He snorted. "What, like your attempt to publicly humiliate me wasn't?"

_'Attempt?' _she seethed. _'I had him!' _"No," she answered coolly, "I think that was more a reality check for you than anything else. You kissing me on the other hand--"

He stopped so abruptly she almost tripped over herself. "You kissed me back!" he hissed, eyes narrowed in irritation.

She mirrored his face. "As if I had a choice!"

"I didn't, either."

"Yes you did. Oooh," Serena almost shouted, glaring at him and wringing her hands. "That's always been your problem--"

"_My _problem?"

"Yes, dammit, that's what I said! You just can't stand the idea of sacrificing your ego for the sake of someone else's. You'd push someone into a puddle of mud if it meant you could come out clean. When has life ever been more to you than you, you, _you_?"

If it weren't for his pride he would have cowered then, but he wasn't able to prevent his jaw from dropping at her outrageously correct comment. _'How dare she speak to me like this! Even if it were true.. how could she?' _Though he wanted, again, to say what he was thinking, his conscience wrestled with the startling fact that he couldn't argue with her.

Before she had arrived at the Silver Moon he was drudging up some heartfelt "IwasanegotisticaljerkbackthenandI'mreallyreallysorry"--without making it sound quite like that. And he would have given a suave confession, too, had she chosen not to be so damn difficult! Now apologizing was ten times more of a task to fulfill, all because she wasn't who he remembered her to be; Serena, a big softie, the girl who would _never _tell anyone how she really felt.

She sure didn't hold back this time, and now, he was without an excuse for his behavior in high school, for she had thrown his 'pompous ass' defense back in his face. _'Why is this turning so terribly sour?' _he mentally wailed. Couldn't she see that up until he laid eyes on her he meant what he was planning to say?

Serena didn't get why he didn't rise to her challenge and defend himself. _'I pretty much called him a narcissistic bastard and he has nothing to say? Oh.. no.. What if I was right about him all along?' _That thought made her shiver and suddenly, she didn't care what he had to say anymore. _'He _is_ the same guy, only with a different way of trying to hurt me.'_

Darien was sifting through proper responses to her questions, trying to find one that wouldn't make him come off as even more of an ass, when she swiftly turned and moved to walk away. Just as quickly his mouth began to move. "Wait, Serena. I'm.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to apologize to you and hope that maybe.. maybe we could be friends." _'That wasn't as hard to say that as I'd visualized it,' _he realized, then inwardly cringed. _'Why couldn't I have said that earlier, though?'_

She stared at him, long and hard, so much so that he had to fight not to flinch in front of her. With those glossy lips of hers she angelicly replied, "Now I get it." With a smile on her face, she continued. "Darien, you ignored me in high school. And for all my trying, I could never see through your cold exterior. You know why? Because nothing else existed. That's who you were. Thank you for showing me that nothing has changed."

* * *

Sunday, 9:52 am

**_"Serena,_**

**_Wednesday didn't turn out as I'd expected. Actually, I don't know what I expected, only that I said things I shouldn't have. You were right, of course. I was only thinking of myself, of how making sure we were on good terms was going to make me feel better about how I treated you in the past._**

**_This may be too soon to ask anything more from you, but please... let me make it up to you._**

**_Darien."_**

* * *

Monday, 3:25 pm

**_"Darien.._**

**_Although you may not have had any expectations for me, I know what I expected from you. I expected you to have grown up. I expected you to have changed._**

**_I don't regret saying what I did. Like you, the truth, no matter how unpleasant it may be, doesn't change. And from what I can see when we met last Wednesday, we are fundamentally incompatible._**

**_It's not terrible that we can't carry on a civil conversation. I just don't think we have much more to say to each other._**

**_Serena."_**

* * *

Monday, 11:55 pm

_**"Serena,**_

_**I can't help but disagree. I think we have a lot more to say to each other. I think that it's because we have so much to say that it was hard for us to figure out where to begin.**_

_**Admitting all my faults is the biggest challenge I've ever had, but don't think I am incapable of it. Please give me the benefit of the doubt.**_

_**Darien."**_

* * *

Tuesday, 5:02 pm

_**"Why is this such a big deal? Why can't you let it go?"**_

* * *

Wednesday, 4:17 am

_**"How can you?"**_

* * *

Darien lay in bed and stared at a corner of the ceiling in his room. As boring a thing to do, he couldn't stop his mind from running through that horrible run-in with Serena. Minute after minute, scene after embarrassing scene, followed by the string of messages they conveyed back and forth. He couldn't have pictured a scenario worse than that.

_'It's been a week. A whole damn week. She has no intention of responding, does she?'_

In his heart he knew the answer to his question. She had been skeptical, but she at least had agreed to hear him out. And for some reason, when the time _came_, he lapsed back into that ego-preserving jerk they both hated. _'Why did I have to be such a jackass? Why couldn't I have let go of my pride when I needed to the most?'_

He let their banter worsen because she called him out on it, too. In a most unnerving manner Serena spotted his underlying intentions right away. That puzzled him. How could he be that transparent to her and so oblivious of himself? How could her uncertain rants of his character make complete sense of him?

_'She said I was cold.'_

* * *

Serena bounded up the stairs, two steps at a time, a smile on her face. She talked to her professor during his office hours and somehow talked him into dropping the grade of her last exam. Instead, the grade from her next exam would subconsequently replace it. "You know this means that you'll have to do amazing on the next exam, right?" he asked once his decision was made.

"Yes," Serena said, bobbing her head, "Yes I do. Thank you so much, Professor."

With that, she excused herself and left, waiting until she got into her car and home to do a victory dance. _'I should call Haruka, tell her the good news..'_

Which left her to the present, shuttling to her room to find her cell phone. She opened the door to her room and fell back almost instantly. "Mom?"

On her bed sat a blue-haired version of Serena and Mina. She was oblivious to her daughter's reaction, too distracted by two pieces of paper in her hand. Serena only had to take a glance at her mother's expression to figure out what they were. One was an advertisement in the newspaper looking for a roommate in an apartment downtown, including a number to call. The other was the address of the apartment, something the blonde had scribbled down after speaking to the owner of the apartment.

Fear pulsed through her for a quick moment. Her mother hadn't known that Serena was looking for a place to move in. Luckily, the blonde had been graced with an understanding of her mother, of whom had been pained to see Mina leave the proverbial nest, and knew that she was upset about the discovery. Cautiously, she stepped back into her room, inching toward her mother.

"I thought you were still at work," she began, knowing it was useless to change the subject. Her mother didn't respond. "I didn't start dinner." Closer, she neared and still, no response. "Would you mind waiting a bit?"

The bluenette looked up then, a kind of sadness washed in her eyes. "Would you mind explaining this?"

Serena licked her lips, aware that all her nervous quirks were showing. "W-well, I know what you're thinking, and I assure you, the apartment is located in the safer area of downtown. And it's right by the bus station that goes out to the university--"

She was cut short by her mother's airy sigh, after which she dared not speak. She waited, and finally her mother said something. "Serena, you've never expressed a want to move out."

"Mom, it's not like that," the blonde argued. "I just wanted to be closer to school and work, so that I wouldn't have to travel as much. It has nothing to do with me wanting to leave you."

"Then why did you keep this from me?" her mother asked, handing her the papers. "Did you think that you could hurt me less by hiding something like this?"

"No," Serena desperately said, the worst kind of feeling hitting her in her gut, "I needed time to figure out what I'd have to say and how."

Her mother stood up and walked past her to the door, pausing at the threshold. "The truth, Serena, will always be the truth, no matter how unpleasant, and no matter how much you try to mask it."

The blonde's eyes widened at the comment, but her mother wasn't looking at her anymore. What ever she said next didn't register and when she was gone, Serena sat in the same spot her mother had occupied for a while. _'The truth.. Didn't I say the same thing to Darien?'_

Her brows furrowed at the thought of him. _'Arrogant, annoying.. honest?' _She shook her head at that, but her mind traveled the trail of thought. _'Maybe Darien wasn't trying to be a jerk. Maybe he really was trying to tell me something. Maybe he was waiting for the right time..?'_

She glanced at her laptop, wondering what she should do. In a split second, she was using it, logging on to Reunion. She exhaled rather quickly when she noticed a new message in her inbox. Eagerly, she opened it and scanned the few lines.

**_"I don't think I'll ever be able to let it go, not before I've had my say. If you understand this feeling at all, you'll know that all I want to do is say what I mean."_**

Her heart slammed into her chest as she read the next line.

**_"I want to see you again."_**

* * *

**_"I'm sorry, but the answer is no."_**

Darien sat back in his chair. He was caught between feeling dumbfounded and distraught. _'What else could I have expected? I blew it.'_

He figured he'd get a reply like this and yet he couldn't help hoping she would finally open up. He was tempted to throw something but only bit down harder on his jaw. _'Oh for pity's sake, what is it about her?'_

He clicked on her profile, his eyes roaming over her attractive smile. _'Why didn't I see this before? Why did I throw our friendship away?' _It might have been guilt that corrected him, for he realized that his 'friendship' with Serena was fraudulent. At Andrew's request, he spoke to her again, but only after ignoring her attempts to talk to him until Andrew was around.

He remembered feeling something akin to disgust when hope became evident in her eyes. Yes, he had turned when she spoke to him, responded when she asked how he was doing. But he did those things with a less than honorable inclination.

Could he have been jealous once Andrew popped up behind him and introduced himself, which took the attention off of him? Maybe. The fact remained, however, that he kept convincing himself that Andrew was the only reason he associated with the insufferable girl.

Regret had him thinking, _'She's not insufferable, though. Not at all.'_

* * *

Serena woke up with a start. She dreamt of a memory, of the day she met Andrew Prince. The summer following freshman year passed, and Serena came back to school determined to befriend Darien. Secretly she hoped that when they got to know one another he'd realize they were perfect for each other.

They had only talked twice since she spoke to him first, but she refused to be intimidated by the single-digit statistic. Whenever she had enough courage collected to approach him, she did so with her head held high, though for all her confidence he seemed insusceptible to her advances. At various times she had to tell herself that it was too crowded in the hallway or that he may have been too busy looking for his soccer buddy to notice.

In what was going to be her last attempt to make contact, he miraculously turned around when she called out to him. She remembered thinking, _'Calmdowncalmdownalthoughthishasneverhappenedbefore--ohcrapwhatdoIdo?!' _Despite her conscience's antics, what came out of her mouth was, "How's it going?"

Her heart fluttered with anticipation, and he didn't disappoint. "Good enough. How about you?"

Then again, he could never disappoint her. She wouldn't allow his actions to. For her, anything he said was gold. Anything he did was priceless. And when he was standing there, right in front of her, eyes on her face, she felt she had stumbled on the mother load.

"Hey Darien!"

And just like that, the moment was gone. Serena's eyes averted to the blonde boy at Darien's side. He was cute enough, but in her mind he was no Darien. She appraised him for a moment before catching his question. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

Darien hesitated, that she noticed, but she was too shocked to recoil. Instead, she brought up a hand. "Serena Moore." The boy smiled, rather charmingly she might add, before taking her hand and bringing it to his lips. "Andrew Prince. It's nice to meet you, Serena."

From that moment, Andrew had taken the reins and Darien had faded into the background, grunting when Serena said anything to him and saying less to nothing when Andrew tried to involve him in their conversation. Serena gave up, settling with the general happiness of being in his company and being lavished with Andrew's attention. When Serena had to go, Andrew invited her to attend his and Darien's next soccer match the following night. Elated, she agreed.

Now, awake and with a monstrous migraine begininng to form at the base of her temples, Serena continued to chronologically trace through her memories. She went to the soccer game, and after Darien and Andrew's team won, Andrew invited her out for ice cream to celebrate. It was there that Darien opened up for the first time.

Andrew was standing in line, chanting everyone's orders to himself so he wouldn't forget, while Darien and Serena sat in a parlor booth facing each other. Darien had a victorious smirk on his face and Serena was silently praying for strength to stop blushing. So distracted by their own personal thoughts they never noticed they had begun to converse.

"Congratulations," she said out of nowhere.

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"No," Darien said, "I meant, thanks for coming to support us. It means a lot."

She wanted to look at him then, show her the warmth swimming in her eyes. "It was nothing. I had fun watching. It gets me as riled up as.. as video games."

Truth be told she was taking a mental check of all the 'cool' things she could have said instead of "video games", but of reading, scrapbooking, watching anime and figure skating, playing video games fit best in what she wanted to say. From the corner of her eye she could see that famous smirk of his widen, which made her think she made a social slip-up by admitting to playing video games, but then he asked, "What kind?"

"RPG's."

"Those are the best." When surprise took over her face, he was quick to add, "What console?"

"I'm old school," Serena said sheepishly, "Super Nintendo and Playstation One."

"Same here. Which RPG is your favorite?"

"Final Fantasy VI."

"Mine, too."

"Who's your favorite character?"

"The blonde one.. I forget her name."

"Celes?" she guessed.

He nodded. "Yeah. She was hot."

_'He thinks blondes are hot!' _her mind rejoiced. Outwardly, she let out a laugh. "I suppose, for a video game character."

Darien pretended to be miffed. "Well, what about you?"

"Locke."

"He was a thief."

"A thief with a good heart. But I guess you wouldn't like him since he stole your favorite character's heart, huh?"

"Something like that."

Serena beamed at his words, though she couldn't look him in the eye. Instead, she turned her head and stared at the back of Andrew's head. Darien seemed to have followed her line of view because he said, "He's a nice guy."

"I agree."

"I think he likes you."

She chose not to physically react. _'Jealousy? One could only hope.'_

The present Serena got out of bed and stretched her arms above her head. _'I was so incredibly stupid back then. I wanted to believe Darien had feelings for me.' _Throwing her hair back into a ponytail, she left her room to head downstairs for breakfast. _'I can't face him again. I need to focus on moving on and the apartment I'm going to look at today.'_

Her mother was in the kitchen, waiting for her with scrambled eggs and toast. "This is a surprise," Serena said, taking a seat adjacent to her. The smell of butter and eggs wafted up to her nostrils. Without further delay she dug in.

"I figured you'd forget and take off to see that place," came the reply.

Serena eyed her mother, but didn't see any anger. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I'm sorry," she said next, refusing to avoid what they discussed four days ago.

"Serena--"

"No, seriously, Mom," she said, trying to maintain eye contact with her companion, "I should have been more sensitive about my plans, especially since Mina left so randomly. At first, I didn't say anything because I didn't know how to tell you without making it sound like I wanted to leave you. But now I understand.."

The bluenette placed a hand on Serena's free one. "I understand, too. It wasn't terrible news, and I am happy for you. How could I not be?" She smiled then, and said, "I just needed some time."

Serena matched her mother's smile. _'I understand that, too, Mom.'_

With a lighter mood in the atmosphere, Serena finished her food and prepared for her departure. An eighteen-minute drive brought her to a fourteen-story building standing along a downtown street. She parked her car in a visitor's spot and entered the building, taking in the area as she walked. _'Nice view, though he didn't mention a fountain in the lobby.'_

She took the elevator to the third floor and passed a lovely couple before reaching the door labeled "312". She rapped lightly on the door and waited. It was opened a few seconds later by someone she wasn't ever expecting to see.

"Melvin?"

That's right, Melvin Wright, the geek from high school. Only the man standing in front of her was actually taller than her, with an average build, shorter, styled brown hair and a fashion taste. _'Definitely not the Melvin I remember..' _Deciding to move on, she said, "I'm Serena Moore, from high school."

If he was surprised by this, he hid it well. "Oh, yeah. Serena.. How've you been?"

She smiled genuinely and initiated a hug. "Well, and you?"

"Good, good," he said, stepping back. "Come in, please."

She thanked him and entered, looking around the place. _'Hmm, neat, ordered.. Not what I expected, not to mention not me!'_

"So you're the one I spoke to over the phone," Melvin said, closing the door after her. "Although we switched names and all, I didn't recognize your voice."

"Likewise," Serena nodded. "Honestly, I didn't recognize you without your glasses."

"Laser surgery," he explained, "I had it done for work."

"Oh? And what is it that you do?"

"I'm a model."

_'Holy shit, seriously..' _"Ahh.."

Melvin smiled, an indication that he knew what she must have been thinking. "Yes, well that's part of the reason why you're here. You see, I'm looking for a replacement."

She furrowed her brow because that twinkle in his eye made her think he meant something more. "For yourself?"

"For me."

_'Oh.' _"Oh."

"Yeah."

"So you placed the ad to find someone to take over your rent?"

Melvin nodded. "Yeah. Did you want to take a look around?"

"Sure."

For the next twenty minutes Serena took a tour of the spacious kitchen, the well-furnished living room, the cleanest bathroom she'd ever seen in a bachelor pad and Melvin's room. "This room," he said, letting her look around, "will be the only one empty when I'm gone. The rest of the furniture's my roommate's."

"Ah, well, I suppose I'll have to work to be in his good graces," she half-joked. She peered across the hall to the only room she hadn't seen yet. "That's his room, then?"

"Yeah," Melvin said, stalking to the door and closing it. "I'm not going to bother you by showcasing it. Wouldn't want to piss my roomie off, especially since it isn't very tidy right now."

"Fine by me," she said, returning to the living room.

Later, over a cup of tea, Serena and Melvin had a nice chat. Serena found out that Melvin was dating the redhead Molly Sanders from high school. "That's wonderful," she smiled.

"Thanks. I'm thinking that once I'm done with grad school I'll propose." He sighed, then went on. "So, what have you been up to?"

Serena filled him in on what she was doing with school and about Mina, Haruka and Michiru. She didn't mention hearing from Darien, since she didn't expect in her wildest dreams for him to remember the raven-haired man.

Eventually, Melvin said, "I'm going to have to be truthful here, Serena. I'm in kind of a bind."

She made a concerned face. "What do you mean?"

The man looked like he was choosing his words carefully. "My lease is about to be up, and my agent wants me out of here and booking it to L.A. as soon as it can be arranged. If that's not enough, I've had too much trouble finding someone who gets along with my roommate. But you.. you can solve all of my problems."

"Me?" Serena asked, pointing to herself. "I-I'm not sure how."

"If you sign on today, I'll be able to release myself from the contract and be packed and moving in two days. I'll make it just in time for my first gig in L.A., and I can take Molly with me."

"But.. but--" _'This is moving a little fast..' _"--what about your roommate?"

Melvin snorted and casually tossed the question aside. "I've known you since high school, and I know that your personality won't clash with his. I trust you, which is why I've decided that from every other person I've interviewed, you're the one."

Serena wanted to smile at that, but her nerves were splitting. _'Ha, no pressure! What a mess this seems to be. What do I do? I love the place, it's convenient, and I know Melvin would never try to sell a rat-occupied, insect-infested hellhole to me.. Damn, what do I do?!'_

An hour later, Serena was handing over a check for a brand new lease to the apartment superintendent. "I'll just need you to sign these papers and I'll grab your receipt," the big, burly man known as Gary explained. Serena did what he instructed, then looked up to Melvin for reassurance.

"Thank you so much," he said, taking a moment to give her an appreciative hug. "You don't know how much this means to me."

"Not a problem," she answered, "I'd already decided in my head that I wanted this place, so all I did was get the paperwork done."

"By the way, how are you going to manage paying rent and all."

"I've been saving since I was seventeen. If I was jobless I'd still survive for a few months."

"I see," he said, "And where do you work?"

Serena grinned. "At a bar."

"No shit. Where?"

"Morgan's Lounge."

"No shit!" Melvin almost shouted. "That's my uncle's bar."

Serena almost choked on air. "Morgan is your uncle?" _'Holy shit, small world.'_

"Yeah. He keeps telling me to visit but I never do."

"You should," Serena insisted, "I work tonight. You could bring Molly, too."

Melvin contemplated her suggestion, then nodded. "I'll do that. I've got to say goodbye to my uncle, anyway. Oh, and I could bring my roommate so you could meet him."

She smiled. "That's a perfect idea."

* * *

Darien wanted to break a piece of furniture or something, but thought twice about it. After all, everything outside of Melvin's room was his. Plus, he didn't want Melvin's scrutinizing eyes to pick up on just how pissed he was. "You didn't tell me you were looking for a roommate to replace you."

Melvin shifted his weight standing up, then spoke. "You knew I was going to have to leave for L.A. sooner or later. I had to get someone to take over my lease, man."

"You could've asked _me_," Darien said, trying not to sound like a cornered cat. "_I_ could've signed it and _we_ could've looked for someone together. And now you've gone and given the lease to a total stranger!" _'Temper, temper.. oh shut up!'_

"It's chill, man. I went through a ton of interviews, and this girl was the only one that could possibly stand you."

"You chose a girl?"

"Yeah, yeah, what difference does it make? She's stable."

"Right. And where does she work?"

"At my uncle's bar."

"Oh great, half of the rent is dependent on a waitress from a local bar."

Irritation finally broke through Melvin's face. "Well, if you want you can meet her for yourself, you of little faith. We're going there tonight, you, Molly and I."

"Wonderful," he spat sarcastically, throwing a shirt on. _'Little faith, psh. When it comes to a new roommate I'm the anti-Christ of faith!'_

* * *

**End Part Three.**

_

* * *

_

A glimpse at the next chapter. Part Four. The Question.

"Why did you pretend to be my friend?"

"Because Andrew wanted me to."

Hurt flashed through her eyes, but she didn't stop. "Is that why?" She turned her back on him, the truth starting to sink in. "No wonder," she murmured, "You started to ignore me once Andrew asked me out. Because you'd already served your purpose.."


	4. part four

**Title:** Perfect Strangers  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language  
**Full Description:** It's been two years since Serena Moore has heard anything from her old high school crush, Darien Matthews. When he finally makes contact, she is forced to face his version of the truth and her feelings for someone she thought she knew. But will this long overdue confrontation prove they're perfect together or perfect strangers?

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I.. am tired. Truly I am hooked, if I am posting this update at 5 a.m. But I've postponed this too long, and can only hope that I still have a few devoted readers out there. Most of it I blame on the fact that I was working on an older story, trying to wrap that up before returning to work on this one. But just to let you know I'm still alive and kicking.. 

Again I promise I'm not a spammer or a hentai, but if you do not have an account and would like to keep up with this story, you can leave your e-mail address on reviews and I will message you when I post an update. If not, that's fine, but please continue to enjoy!

Special thanks to: **Princess of the Rogues**,** Celeste**, **Champion of Justice**-2, **PreciousLilOne**, **skye668**, **rosebudjamie**-3, **fireangel621**, **raye85** and **pheobesapphira**-2. I would like to acknowledge and tell you that I appreciate your support through this all!

This fic is on 14 favorite lists and 34 alert lists and has had over 2000 hits. Wicked!

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Part Four. The Question.  
_"Talk about a major coincidence.."_**

* * *

Serena smiled to herself as she swept her hair to one side of her head and pinned it down with a barette. _'I have an apartment to my name.' _And when she told her mother this two hours ago, her mother was nothing but ecstatic for her. Of course, the blonde didn't tell her mother that she was going to have a male roommate, but that wasn't a very important detail. _'Besides, the place was too stylish and clean for a heterosexual boy. Melvin's buddy must be gay.' _Her smile widened after some contemplation. _'Maybe we could shop together..'_

Her thoughts drifted to Mina, how excited she would be to hear the news. Unlike with her mother, Serena told her sister that she had been looking for an apartment for months without success. Now that she had found one and snagged it, Mina could say, "I'm going to visit you _all _the time." But that was a conversation she would have to put off until after work. She began to hum while she slipped on her work pants, the softest cream-colored slacks she'd ever purchased, and looped a belt around it.

Her mother came in as she was slipping her heels on. "You're singing to yourself."

"Humming," Serena corrected.

"Something you haven't done in weeks. Something must be going right."

"Yes, Mom," she agreed, whirling in her shoes and stopping right in front of the bluenette, "Everything's going right." And with that mentality, she went off to work.

* * *

Darien crossed his arms impatiently, standing off to the side while Melvin spoke to the heaping-mass-of-muscles bouncer outside of the Strata, the multi-level venue owned by Morgan Wright. There were different club rooms, a restaurant, and a bar--Morgan's Lounge--that comprised the building, and Melvin was getting the bouncer to contact Morgan via walkie-talkie so he, Darien and Molly could get in. 

When Melvin told him his soon-to-be roommate worked at a local bar downtown, he was a tad, well, skeptical. He honestly wasn't expecting Morgan's Lounge to be a top-class bar one could possibly run into a semi-famous city patron in. And he certainly didn't expect a line the length of a block to have gathered for the place. He should've known. _'She probably gets enough tips in one night to pay for one week's worth of groceries.'_

Again he scowled. _'That's right, Melvin found a girl.' _It wasn't like he was opposed to having a girl for a roommate.. sort of. He just hated the idea of a girl taking Melvin's place and turning the apartment.. _'Girl-y.'_

"Still got your head in the clouds," Melvin scolded. That knocked Darien out of his thoughts. Melvin had already escorted Molly inside and was waiting expectantly for his friend to follow. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, stepping past the long line-up.

Loud music blasted from a room to his right, another genre competing with that volume to his left. Strobe lights flashed, crowds cheered. Heat emanated from room to room. Darien rolled his eyes. _'Kids these days.' _He turned. Molly was silently eyeing a techno dance room filled with dorky-looking boys and a few attractive girls. Giving in to the evil urge, he leaned over to Melvin and made some random comment about his girlfriend's taste in the opposite gender. Melvin scowled, hoping his girlfriend didn't hear it.

"This way," Melvin said, tugging at Molly and dragging Darien to the elevator. Others crowded around when they heard a ding, but stepped back when the people inside stampeded out of cubicle. Darien made sure he could see Melvin and Molly enter as he shuffled in and planted himself in the far corner.

A quarter of an hour passed and they were still in the elevator. Darien was fuming, tapping impatiently away with his foot. _'Do we honestly have to stop at every damn floor? At this rate using the stairs would've gotten us there faster.' _The overpowering smell of men and women's perfume, mixed with sweat and alcohol breath forced him to breathe through his mouth and pray for the ride to end soon.

For all his frustration, however, the elevator finally slid to the top floor, and the fact that Melvin, Molly and he were the only ones left in the cubicle did make up for the horror he had gone through. With relief he stepped out and took the room in. The wall aligned with the elevator was a blue so dark it almost looked black. The rest of the walls were large sheets of glass windows that stretched from the ceiling to the floor. The night sky matched the blue of the wall, and if it weren't for the wall sconces and candles that reflected against the mirrors on the ceiling, angled and strategically set, the place would not have that romantic, dimly lit look. There were coffee-colored tables and chairs and linen cotton sofa sections dispersed throughout the place, all of which were occupied.

There was nothing tacky about the room, no neon sign of declaration or oversized t-shirts. In fact, the waiters wore plain black slacks, white button-up shirts and mini waist aprons that had "Morgan's Lounge" stitched on on the bottom left corner. It was a professional uniform he wasn't expecting. Although, when he looked at what kind of crowd was present, he retracted the thought. Every person he'd ever seen in the local newspaper for the past two years was there, along with lawyers, a newscaster or two and--

"Isn't that the mayor's nephew?" Molly asked, interrupting his mental train.

"Hey, what do you know?" Melvin said, nudging at Darien with a smug smile, "It _is_ the mayor's nephew."

Darien, however, didn't catch the barb, for his eyes had slipped past the man in question and traveled to where he was heading; the most lit corner of the lounge, the bar. The shelves of drinks and cups, along with the counter were lined with muted white lights, diffusing the customers in its wake. But what had really caught his eye was the bartender, a tiny thing moving gracefully amidst the craze of customers and waiters.

She was the only one who didn't wear the black and white colors, though she did wear the same apron. Instead, she donned a pair of soft cream slacks and a very classy, pink and short-sleeved turtleneck. Though she had no jewelry, a barette pinning golden strands to one side was accessory enough. His gaze slid to her face and his stomach flopped.

Serena. It was Serena, and she was gorgeous.

Dread and excitement bubbled all at once. She was right there, a bartender at Melvin's uncle's bar. _'Talk about a major coincidence..' _Darien really didn't know if he should rejoice or retreat back into the elevator. If Serena saw him, she might freeze up, cause an accident and blame it on him when it happened. It wasn't a vain depiction on his part, just that she would be more than unpleasantly surprised to see him there. And as much as he wanted to talk to her, there were plenty of reasons why he shouldn't.

Molly snorted, the first thing that registered after his quite obvious reaction to the blonde. "He's not that cute," she said, referring to the mayor's nephew, who had reached the bar and plopped on a stool right in front of the blonde. Melvin just laughed, but Darien kept silent as the dark brunette exchange words with Serena. He couldn't tell if he was flirting or ordering a drink, but a few seconds later, Serena's mouth twitched and she gave in to a smile. And for some reason, his stomach flopped again. Melvin, having noticed everything, was given the "I have to get out of here before she sees me" eyes.

Just as he was about to vocalize a subtle suggestion to leave, recognition flashed across Molly's face. "Hey, isn't that--"

"My uncle," Melvin finished, taking his girlfriend's arm and leading her in a different direction, "He just waved us over. Let's go say hi." As he passed Darien he said, "Five minutes." Which meant if he wanted to talk to her without any interference, he should do it now.

_'Come on, Matthews, deep breaths.'_

* * *

(**A/N:** Looks like it's time for another POV collision!) 

Serena cringed inwardly as she shook the mayor's nephew a chocolate martini. Sure, Chad was a decent-looking young man, but way too drunk and way too into himself. And self-absorbed was the last quality she wanted to deal with. It reminded her of a certain raven-haired man who'd been creeping into her thoughts as of late. Unwillingly, of course.

Although, this man, however drunk he was, was definitely better than facing Darien ever again. When she met up with him at the Silver Moon, the last thing she expected was to feel anything noteworthy, yet she had. She acted childishly, defensively, things she thought she was past since entering college. It proved irksome to know that no matter how grown up she thought herself, someone like Darien could come around and show her otherwise.

She mentally groaned. _'There I go again, thinking about him again. Why can't I let it go, now that everything's working out for me?' _She set a martini glass with a hip design etched on it on the counter and began to take the shaker apart. Although she had her back temporarily turned to the customer counter, she kept watch by peering into the horizontally full-length mirror above her head. _'Next thing you know he'll show up for real and--'_

The thought was ripped away from her mind and replaced by midnight blue. It wasn't the night or a trick of the eye. It was the midnight blue that rose a familiar type of churning in her stomach and a specific color to her cheeks. Darien. It was Darien, and he was enough for her to hitch her throat on.

Recognition stirred between the two, and she began to panic. _'What the hell is he doing here? Mind, this is a public place, but that line outside.. ah, who cares about that? Why is he here? It couldn't be for me.. God, what if he's here to avenge his ego..?'_

As if reading those thoughts, he raised his brow suggestively. Before she could react to him, the sound of a clearing throat coming from Chad's end got her to snap out of it. Automatically, she jumped into action and started pouring the drink. And watched as Darien watched her try to regain her wits. Nerve-wrecking to say the least.

_'Is he just going to stand there?' _she asked herself wearily. Too bad she couldn't just ask him that, but the breath seemed to have been knocked out of her.

"May I have a cherry on that?"

The question made Serena jump, until she realized it was Chad's. She nodded, hoping he understood the gesture, and reached over to grab the fruit container when she accidentally knocked the cap to the shaker over. A string of curses was barely kept silent as she reflexively moved out of the way. Miraculously, the cap didn't reach her pants, just hit the ground with a metallic thud. "You dropped that," was Chad's inane comment.

_'Ugh! I can't do this! Come on, Serena. Deep breaths.'_

Darien watched as Serena took a deep, calming breath before reaching down to pick it up and almost instantly regretted coming over to the bar. True, knocking a shaker over wasn't a major accident, but the look in her eyes just before indicated he was far from wanted there. Just as he was deciding to disappear before she stood up, he caught the mayor's nephew's arm reaching over the counter, fingers very close to Serena's rear.

Fury washed over him in a millisecond. Next thing he knew, he was grabbing the man by the collar, making him stand up and stare at him and only him. Serena was standing up by this time, and from the corner of his eye, he could see her utter shock. "Darien, what--"

She stopped mid-sentence, feeling the anger coming from the raven-haired man in waves that burned her skin even from across the counter. Whatever Chad had done, he was in deep trouble. Though it didn't take a genius to figure out he was trying to cop a feel, it took her a moment to wonder why Darien had stopped him from degrading her in public.

The man didn't struggle too much under Darien's fierce grip, just acted like he hated being hassled when he was drunk. It riled Darien up even more. In a strained voice he hardly recognized, he said, "That's no way to treat a lady."

Serena didn't know what to make of that statement, especially when it sounded dead sexy coming from Darien. All she knew was that she was rapidly running out of air and nerves. Oh, but the curiosity was still present, the wonder that he was there, defending her honor to someone as semi-famous as Chad.

The brunette snorted. "What is she to you, man? Your girlfriend?"

_'Damn good question,' _Darien mused. His gaze briefly met hers, and the temperature in the room leapt about ten degrees. Try as he might, he knew it would be idiotic to deny any attraction to the blonde. He didn't know where it had come from, but it was there like a nagging itch. An itch he would be more than happy to scratch. _'Down, boy.'_

Serena's spine practically turned to jelly once Darien laid eyes on her. It was a warm, familiar-- _'Sense of losing self-control. Get a grip, Serena! This isn't high school.' _Which was what Mina had said to her from the beginning. Mina and her conscience were right, of course, that she wasn't a high school girl with a crush anymore. But that would mean that Darien wasn't the same high school boy with a self-centered attitude. It was a truth she had to admit to, especially now.

It took him a moment, but he finally said, "No, she's not. But that's no reason to treat her any different." He narrowed his eyes, dropped his voice dangerously low and added, "You should probably apologize."

"Sorry, man--"

"Not to me," Darien interrupted. _'Idiot.' _He nodded at Serena. "To her."

She couldn't believe her ears. Darien refused to lie and say that she was his girlfriend for the sake of defending himself and was making Chad apologize to her. What happened to the Darien who wouldn't act or react unless it would socially benefit him? What happened to watching her make a fool of herself and doing nothing to defend her? The old Darien would never have defended her. Ever. But this one did, and it was confusing her to no end.

She registered Chad's grumbled "sorry" and waited for Darien to release him. _'The old Darien,' _she realized, _'I could spot from a distance. This one is the stranger.'_

That's when Chad threw a punch Darien was too distracted to notice was coming at him. He stumbled back, crashing into a stool, and fell backward.

Instinctively Serena grabbed his arm to pull and steady him, but when he did right himself, Darien lunged forward and returned the right hook. Chad fell, and this time, no one stopped him from running into the ground.

Darien knew he shouldn't have done that, knew it would look like he was trying to save face again to Serena. He didn't care. That punch was all anger and the man deserved it. A memory flicked through his mind, of when he and Andrew fought. It happened two years ago, right before he left for college. A brief exchange of words that turned brutal, bloody. It was the same situation, the same fire he didn't care to put out. He waited until Chad got on all fours before moving to strike again.

"Darien!"

Serena was horrified. The dark look in his eyes was all too violent from anything she'd ever seen from him. When he punched Chad she did feel a little gratification that he got what he deserved, but when she turned to face Darien he looked like he was far from finished. She'd never seen him like that, had thought that his fit at the Silver Moon was the worst he could dish out. That's why she called out his name, because she was actually _scared_ by his faraway expression, hoping that whatever he was thinking he would somehow hear her.

Turns out Serena's voice was what broke through to him. He stopped mid-punch, the tension in his muscles dissipating little by little until he dropped his arm.

A proper time for Serena's boss, Morgan himself, Melvin and a somewhat pretty redhead to enter the scene.

"Serena?" Morgan asked, incredulously.

"Morgan--"

"Serena?" the redhead asked, as though confirming her name with genuine surprise.

Serena squinted her eyes at her, then realized it was-- "Molly?"

The redhead smiled, about to say something when Melvin bursted out with, "Darien?"

The five glanced at each other for a second before chorusing, "What's going on?"

Morgan went first. "I was just about to introduce you to my soon-to-be assistant manager."

Molly spoke for Melvin and herself. "We were just about to introduce you to our friend."

Melvin cast a glance from Serena and then to Darien. "I was just about to intoduce you to your new roommate."

Serena and Darien nodded until the words sunk in.

"What?!"

* * *

Serena pulled at the ties of her apron, loosening it off her waist. It took some of the weight off, but inside she was just too heavy with scattered emotions. _'I almost lost my job tonight, and over Darien Matthews no less.' _After the initial shock of hearing Darien was Melvin's roommate--and subconsequently hers--she was dragged to Morgan's office to explain what had happened before he showed up at the bar. He listened carefully and, although she was given a thorough reprimand for not calling for help, decided he needed her as his assistant manager too much to fire her. Still.. _'I actually defended Darien, risking my job and Morgan's reputation.. What the hell is happening to me?'_

A waitress passed by, asking if she was okay. Serena pasted a smile on and responded as meekly as possible. She didn't want to alarm the girl since she was new. Besides, her mood had nothing to do with work. It always came down to him. Darien Matthews. He was the most violent storm that swept her life back in high school and even now managed to make waves in what she thought was a permanent calm. The worst part of it was that she was letting him, little by little, tear her walls down again. _'And now I might have to live with him! This is just a downright mess!'_

Serena took her tips, a surprisingly thick wad of cash, and grabbed her purse to go. As she flew down the stairs a determined look came over her. _'I'll just have to call Melvin tonight and tell him I can't do it. He's going to have to find someone else..' _She planted both feet off the last step, looked up and froze. Darien was waiting for her in the near-empty lobby.

She moved to back up to the stairs and run up a couple of flights, but he had already spotted her, midnight eyes boring into hers. She gulped, wondering what could have been running through his mind. Probably the same things as her. Anger. Regret. Wariness.

With that came the quick few moments of spirited panic. _'What do I do? I can't turn and go back upstairs, but I can't leave either. Curse Morgan, I always told him he needed to make a back exit. Darien's got me trapped.' _She almost laughed at the insanity of the situation. She, Serena Moore, actually didn't plan a run in with Darien _and_ didn't like the thought of it happening as a pleasant surprise. _'Oh, if Mina could see me now..'_

The irony and laughter died once she realized she was going to have to face him or spend the night in the janitor's closet. Taking a deep breath, she began to walk toward the door and subconsequently toward him. Each step felt like a step closer to impending doom, but she ignored the feeling, concentrating more on the anger and regret.

She was preparing herself to saying something angry like "you really have some nerve approaching me now" or "I'm too tired to fight even you right now" when he said, "We should talk."

And she found herself saying, "I agree." _'We might as well discuss living arrangements.'_

_'Here goes nothing.' _"You can't move in."

"Yes, that's the same decision I've come to--what?" she asked, letting her shock slip out.

"You heard me." He averted his eyes as he said this. After all, saying she couldn't move in had been the most direct statement he gave her since they met and was pretty much subjecting himself to her wrath. There was no other way, at least that was what he had come to determine after Melvin dragged him away from the bar for a little conference time. Although he may have been appreciative of Melvin's effort, he remembered the way Serena called out his name to stop him from permanently hurting that drunk guy. Remembered how frightened she was.

He'd scared her and honestly, if she hadn't been there he probably wouldn't have stopped. If not for that sole reason, the fact that they couldn't get along for more than five seconds was a dead giveaway. They couldn't live with each other. Acknowledging that and that Serena would still have a home to go to afterward made him come to that decision. The hard part was convincing her that it was the logical thing to do.

"I don't think I heard correctly," Serena argued, then asked, "What am I doing?"

_'Wow, do I really have to spell it out for her?' _"You're _not_ going to take over the apartment, you're _not_ going to take Melvin's place and you're especially _not_ going to live with me."

_'Ha! I guess he needs to be reminded of who's the one with the final say.' _"The lease is under my name. If anything, I should be the one telling you that you can't move in."

"Oh, so that's what this is about. You want to be the one who rejects me this time." A harsh depiction of what had been the past and what was the present. Both parties were too upset to dwell on it, though.

Serena crossed her arms and glared. "I won't deny how enticing that sounds, but high school is something I'd rather not relive." With that, she moved to walk away.

"Why?" Darien asked her back, "Because then you wouldn't have a reason to be angry anymore?"

Serena whirled around. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," he said once again. "Tell me, Serena, why _are_ you still mad at me?"

"I'm not mad at you," she said, unfolding her arms, "That's ridiculous."

_'Hmph. Doubt it.' _"Is it?"

_'What the hell?' _"Yes, and that's the truth."

"Then why did you refuse to meet me after I told you I wanted to apologize to you in person?"

"I was trying not to rehash things with you," she answered. Only she couldn't have sounded more detached from the statement than if she was being asked about the weather.

Impatience hit Darien. Serena's stubbornness was really starting to get on his nerves. "Will you just tell me the truth?"

Instead of doing so, she replied with a question, one that seemed to be a suppressed outburst. One that Darien would have to reply to honestly and without hesitation for her to believe, and maybe forgive, him.

"Why did you pretend to be my friend?"

"Because Andrew wanted me to."

Hurt flashed through her eyes, but she didn't stop. "Is that why?" She turned her back on him, the truth starting to sink in. "No wonder," she murmured, "You started to ignore me once Andrew asked me out. Because you'd already served your purpose.."

Now everything made sense. She was too blind to see the real reason why Darien responded to her that day in the hallway. Why Andrew jumped at the chance to be introduced to her. _'Andrew asked Darien to introduce us, asked to help him get me to go out with him. That was the only reason he talked to me, the only reason he tried to be nice.'_

The air was suddenly knocked out of her for the second time that night, though for different reasons. It was as if her memory was nothing more than a lie, a boxed perception of how things were when they really weren't. Her mind battled his words, trying to argue that he was lying, but there was no deception in his eyes or in the manner with which he replied. It was the truth.

She wanted to laugh until she cried. Of all the times Andrew asked if she wanted to hang out, just her, him and Darien, she went because of Darien, and he went because he wanted to fit in. Which meant she really, really, _really_, made a fool out of herself.

Darien watched her face undergo a variety of changes and cursed himself for being so stupid. Did he really think he could be so horrible to one individual and not feel guilty somewhere down the line? He wished he could go back, as cliché as it sounded, and change things.

"Please, Serena. Back then I was okay with that. For some sick, twisted reason, I thought pretending would help. It took me a while, but when I look back at it now.." The words he wanted faded away once he realized Serena's eyes were turning into bottomless pools of blue. So liquid it was a miracle the tears didn't fall when she blinked.

He could really kick himself for what he had done to Serena, for what he was still doing. Constantly reminding her of the one embarrassing thing in high school no one could really live down. A mortifying crush. Though he wasn't as deluded as to think she still had feelings for him, rather feelings for the experience, the let down.

He understood and that's why he couldn't speak, just stared at her falling apart, and if not for the backbone she'd grown since then, she would have been utterly crushed by now. It was that hint of steel that stopped her face from betraying what her eyes could not.

"Thank you," she said, her voice raw as though she had been screaming. She paused several times, like she was trying to find the proper follow-up to a bitter thanks. In the end she settled with, "I'll call you within the week."

He didn't argue, he even let her go without so much as a nod. That would've been selfish of him, and the selfish Darien knew he had wreaked enough havoc on that blonde for a lifetime.

* * *

**End Part Four.**

_

* * *

_

A glimpse at the next chapter. Part Five. The Decision.

His breath hitched at her name, since he knew why she was calling, the only reason she'd call him. "So.. Have you decided?"

"Yes."

"And..?"

"Before I say it," she blurted after a pause that lasted almost an eternity, "I just want you to know my decision has nothing to do with you."

He laughed, though it was a nervous kind of laughter. "Of course not."


	5. part five

**Title:** Perfect Strangers  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language  
**Full Description:** It's been two years since Serena Moore has heard anything from her old high school crush, Darien Matthews. When he finally makes contact, she is forced to face his version of the truth and her feelings for someone she thought she knew. But will this long overdue confrontation prove they're perfect together or perfect strangers?

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I've been trying to update my other Serena/Darien story, You Never Know, but I've been receiving so many requests via reviews that I should update this soon, so I've been busting my writing skills on this chapter. But I think I'm going to hold off on updating this until I get another chapter out on my other fic first. I've also got a new line up of stories that I'm thinking of posting, but I think I'll finish my current unfinished projects first before working on others. Just to let you wonderful readers know, heh..

Reviewers without a FF account--feel free to leave an e-mail address if you want to be notified when I post an update. Just let me know that it's okay to send you an e-mail when I get the next chapter up. Thanks.

Special thanks to: **rosebudjamie**, **lina**, **ka**, **Champion of Justice**, **kireisnowtenshi**, **skye668**, **diamondstar1808**, **moonfan2012**, **supersaiyanx**, **Luluca** and **SmTwilight** for your reviews on the last chapter. I haven't had time to personally respond to your reviews, but your support has been phenomenal and is deeply appreciated. Thank you!

This fic is on 21 favorite lists and 48 alert lists and has had over 4500 hits. Crazy, crazy, crazy.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Part Five. The Decision.  
_"There's no way in hell you'd be good enough."_**

* * *

Serena was in bed with her boxer shorts and a baggy t-shirt on, eating ice cream, when she finally called Mina. By then, the mixture of slow-churned vanilla ice cream, an hour's worth of tears and a battered ego had loosened her tongue quite a bit. She didn't even feel guilty as her words about Darien and the current situation got more and more colorful. 

Mina waited until the end of the story to say, "Poor thing."

"Seriously," Serena grunted, shoving another spoonful into her mouth. "I'm so messed up right now."

Mina made a sound akin to a snort. "I meant your digestive system. I can only imagine what you've put it through since you came home."

"Well," Serena hesitated sheepishly, "I also stopped by the drive-thru at--"

Again, the snort. Serena could feel Mina glaring at her through the phone and winced accordingly. "Serena Jane," the shrill voice echoed through the earpiece, "how you can lose instead of gain two pounds by eating your heart out is beyond me, but you need to stop the compulsive eating."

Serena's jaw almost dropped and so did her spoon. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

"Every time something horrible happens, you think you can overwhelm that feeling with food. You're, quite literally, feeding your anxiety," Mina stated. "It needs to stop."

"It will. Eventually." Though the promise sounded as hollow as she felt.

Mina, however, decided to drop the stern sister act and asked, "So what are you going to do?"

Serena contemplated it over her last spoonful. "Maybe go to sleep, if I can. I'll probably be able to think clearly tomorrow."

Mina was quiet for an incredibly long time. "Amazing."

"What?"

"I thought you'd be way too pissed off at Darien to make a rational move. I mean, he admitted that he strung you along. I would have figured that was enough to make you go crazy."

Serena went to put a lid on the ice cream when she surprisingly found the tub empty. Shrugging to herself, she threw the container out. "Yeah, but that was the old Darien, high school Darien."

Mina groaned. "Don't tell me you're buying into his bullshit--"

"I'm not, I'm not," Serena reassured her. "This is something I really think. He defended me from Chad, and that's something he wouldn't have done if he was still the same pig. 'Course it doesn't mean he's off the hook, but this Darien.. I don't know what to make of him."

"And that's why you're thinking of moving in with him?"

"No, that's why I'm thinking I should be looking objectively at the situation here. I have a lease on an apartment that's in the perfect location and in perfect condition. It's clean, got a great view of the city, and I have a roommate who I'm slightly familiar with."

"A roommate who has caused you lots of grief."

"A roommate," Serena interjected, "who is clean and who will keep to himself if I decide to move in."

Mina's sigh of exasperation indicated she was almost done with playing devil's advocate. "One last question, then," she said.

"Okay."

"Are you willing to allow Darien back into your life? He led you on and hurt your feelings. If you do move in, you're going to be faced with that constantly. He'll be just down the hallway, and there will be no way to avoid him anymore."

She contemplated her sister's words. "If I let him keep the apartment, he wins. I'll have proved that I'm not over him using me. It's stupid, really. He gained popularity with Andrew and the others, but how long did that actually last? It doesn't matter now, just like how my being torn up about it doesn't matter. Besides, how does the saying go? Keep your friends close..?"

"I guess," Mina said at last. She sighed before speaking again. "Look, I just want to make sure _you're_ sure. Two years can make you forget how horrible someone's been to you. I don't want you to regret moving in with him."

Serena bit her lip, understanding exactly where her sister was coming from. Assuring her she would sleep on it and switching goodbyes, she sat on her bed and thought silently about the situation. _'I need to remember..' _An idea popped into her mind and she jumped out of bed. After two minutes of digging around in her closet, she found an old Puma shoebox and brought it back to her bed.

The shoebox was full of her old high school things. Four planners, four yearbooks, and a couple of mixed CD's she made for the drives to school. No notes passed between friends, no medals, just a few math exams she'd aced and papers she wrote in English class. She paused and picked up a picture of Andrew and her at their sophomore Homecoming. He had on the typical tux and she wore a sparkly black dress with matching pumps and a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

She thought back to that time. She had become a regular attendee of Andrew and Darien's soccer matches. Afterward they would go the ice cream parlor and maybe catch a movie before going home. Little by little, she got to know Darien, which was more than she could say for Andrew. For some reason he wanted to know everything about her and vice versa.

Eventually the school announcements mentioned Homecoming and from then on, everyone was scrambling about to get a date. Serena was worried she wouldn't be able to ask Darien to go with her before some bimbo snatched him up, but her fears were confirmed when Andrew, Darien and she were at the ice cream parlor the week before Homecoming. "Unlike Darien," Andrew said somewhere in the conversation, "I don't have a date yet."

Serena couldn't have been more shocked if someone had come up to her right then and there and punched her in the gut. With brass knuckles on.

As it was, she was suddenly short of breath but pressed her lips into a smile. "Oh?"

"Yeah," Andrew said, thinking she was asking about the last part of his statement. "Do you?"

Serena avoided Darien's gaze and tried to look into Andrew's eyes without flinching. _'No, I don't. Because I thought I'd be going with your best friend. Scratch that, I thought I'd at least have a chance to ask him.' _"Oh, I'm not going. Dances are for heathens." _'Not to mention I think I would absolutely die if I saw who Darien was with.'_

Andrew laughed. "You are too funny," he said, thinking she was merely joking. Since the beginning he had never been able to tell what she was really thinking.

"Seriously--"

"Seriously," Andrew interrupted, "Go with me."

Her jaw had dropped. She knew that Andrew had always given her special attention, but she didn't think he would suggest anything _that _serious.

Apparently, Darient didn't think so, either. His face aghast, he asked, "Are you serious?"

The two blondes swung their heads in his direction. "Why not?" they asked in sync.

Darien ignored Serena, and this time she actually realized it. "Drew, come on. She's no cheerleader, she's not on student council.. she's not even in the freaking band. She has no social standing, no sense of _any_ kind of fashion. There's nothing going for her. What kind of statement would you be making if she actually said yes?"

"I beg your freaking pardon?!" she wanted to shout, but all that she wanted to say was choking her. If she thought finding out Darien had a Homecoming date was a punch in the gut, well this was a damn coronary.

And no matter how much she wanted to jump to her feet and slap the living daylights out of that nasty, arrogant bastard, she still liked that nasty, arrogant bastard. And that hurt to hear him say those things, because he said them with a determined conviction and because Andrew didn't answer for two whole minutes. When he did, she regretted it.

He answered, but it wasn't to come to her defense. All he said was, "Once my sister makes her over, you'll be eating those words."

As if _that _was supposed to make her feel at all better! Serena flung the picture aside, glaring at how stupid she was for letting Andrew say that and letting him convince her to go with him. She only said yes to get back at Darien, the need to prove he was wrong about her so strong that she literally sold herself out to his best friend. _'And what did I prove? That I cleaned up pretty decently?'_

No, the sad truth was that Darien was too distracted by his date to notice her. Raye Jensen, the head cheerleader of every school sport. _'Of course.' _The raven-haired pair made quite the topic for gossip everywhere Andrew and she turned that night. After the dance they were announced as an official couple. For Serena, it was hell.

Raye started to go to Andrew and Darien's soccer matches, started accompanying them to get ice cream afterward. She clung to him like moss on a statue, and Darien played his part. And she ignored Serena, just like Darien, unless she had some snide remark she just had to vocalize about Serena's hair, or shoes, or chest. _'Or the lack thereof--'_

Serena's train of thought was interrupted when she found what she was looking for. Her high school journal. It was resting at the bottom of the shoebox. Without hesitance she turned the cover and started flipping through pages. Catch phrases caught her here and there, making her remember just how much she really liked Darien.

After the Homecoming incident, Serena noticed her entries were becoming more depressing, less detailed and more about how Raye would indiscreetly insult her. She sounded more hurt by Darien's attitude toward her and more paranoid about Andrew's obvious crush on her. Though these things were reason enough to stop hanging out with them, she still did. For some reason, she still thought Darien would come around, realize Raye was a total heifer and tell her to piss off because he liked blondes better.

That didn't happen. It went from bad to worse, and Serena finally flipped to the page where it did.

**_'Today Darien, Andrew, the Bitch and I were at Trudie's for ice cream. As usual, Darien was being his usual abrasive I'm-too-good-to-acknowledge-Serena's-existence self when Andrew turned around and said, "Serena, I wish you'd go out with me."_**

**_Darien dropped his spoon in his dish, sending ice cream flying all over my new black shirt, and immediately Raye started to laugh. And if it couldn't get any worse, Darien started to, too. I tried to wipe myself off with some dignity, but it was increasingly hard to do. I knew I was blushing and dammit, I wish could've stopped it._**

**_When I finished trying to salvage my shirt Andrew tried to ask me for an answer but that donkey-bitch finally stopped braying enough to say, "It's no use. As usual, Blondie wants something I already have."_**

**_I can't even begin to describe the look of horror written on both Darien's and Andrew's faces, but I'm sure it was only a little bit of what I felt._**

**_I felt like everything had exploded inside of me, fear, pain and sadness just plowing me over. I couldn't deny it, I couldn't speak. It was like something in Raye's words had torn something from me and I was _****_so very lost, like a dream I'd had for so long had been swept away from under my feet._**

**_Both of them just looked at me, and then Darien actually spoke to me. He said, "There's no way in hell you'd be good enough."_**

**_I would have run away faster had Andrew not been sitting next to me, but as I stood up I stumbled all over him, sending him to the floor. Which only made Darien and that stupid bitch laugh their hardest at me. That's when I felt it. The searing heat of a tear flying down my face. And then I was gone, trying to get as far from Trudie's as possible before I could break out into a sob._**

**_I think Andrew had seen it, which is why he called me five minutes ago to coldly say, "The only reason Darien ever talked to you was because we had an agreement." An agreement that he would get me to talk to Andrew and in turn Andrew would "positively affect" his popularity._**

**_A bet. That's all I was. A means to an end. Just like that, the only dream I was certain would come true was ripped from me and torn to itty, bitty shreds._**

**_I hate him._**

**_I hate him for making me care that much without making me do anything at all._**

**_I hate him for giving me hope._**

**_And I hate him for making me cry.'_**

Serena released the long, shaky breath she didn't know she was holding. _'I forgot. I really forgot what it had felt like to be stomped on by Darien Matthews.' _She closed the book, not having the stomach to read any more.

Dazed, she found a way to climb back onto her bed and let the nostalgia wash over her. _'It's okay to feel like this,' _she thought to herself and welcomed the thought of sleep. _'Because tomorrow will be different. It has to be.'_

* * *

The next day Serena swung by Haruka and Michiru's. Miraculously, they had no plans for the rest of the day, so they ventured out with her to get brunch. Haruka cruised by a few places before the girls decided to stop at a restaurant named the Crowne. 

Serena waited until they were inside and seated before she spilled what had happened since she last talked to them. Which meant she had to backtrack from the moment she met Darien in person at the Silver Moon to finding out he was her soon-to-be roommate last night at work. By the time she was finished, she realized just how bizarre things had turned out for her in less than a month. Michiru had this all-knowing smirk on her face, but Haruka was just plain stunned.

"Are you nuts?" the dirty blonde asked, looking into Serena's eyes to measure how far gone from sanity she was.

The blonde in question responded with, "Well.."

"He's a total ass and you're going to live with him?"

Serena paused, wondering how flattered she should be that Haruka was being so protective. "As you know, being around me isn't exactly a leisurely walk in the park."

"Yeah, but at least you don't intentionally hurt people," Haruka shot back.

Serena bit back something harsh. She didn't really want to come to Darien's defense, but, "He apologized more than a few times already--"

"That's 'cause he feels guilty--"

"--and he defended me in front of Chad--"

"--and almost got you fired--"

"--oh, will you let me say one good thing about him?"

Haruka sat back and crossed her arms, unwilling to relent. Serena looked helplessly at Michiru, who had merely been listening in. "Please tell me you don't agree."

Michiru closed her menu--Serena hadn't even noticed the aqua-haired beauty had one in her hand--and finally chose to spoke. "I don't."

Haruka was about to cry out at her girlfriend's words, but Michiru gave one hard glance that silenced the dirty blonde. Serena had a second to be amazed by how much influence she had over her girlfriend, and the grace and sparsity (**A/N:** that actually is a word teehee) with which she executed it, before Michiru continued. "I'm not saying he's the one at fault or you are, but you should face it, Serena. Sounds like you two are a disaster when you're together."

_'Damn,' _she thought, reaching for the menu and reading it herself, _'When she's right, she's right.' _Since they had met face to face, nothing had gone right. He put her on the spot, she had embarrassed him, they tried to walk away and it only drove them back together in the worst way. _'If I don't do something now, I will be stuck.' _But what could she do? She wanted to say that there had to be around it, but there wasn't. Her name was on the lease. If she backed out now her money would most likely be jipped from her, Melvin and Darien would have to find another roommate and Darien would have to come up with the money to cover the lease.

After perusing the drinks section without really reading them, she said, "It's true. But I think I've gotten myself so stuck in this situation that I can't dig myself out of it. I think I really am going to have to move in with him."

She could tell that something was hanging at the tip of Haruka's tongue but she didn't say anything. _'Must be Michiru's bewitching powers. Ha!'_

The sound of a clearing throat broke the tension that had sprung from Serena's statement. "Can I get you ladies something to drink?" the waitress prompted.

Michiru ordered a water with lemon, Haruka an orange juice, and Serena.. was taking a moment to figure out what she wanted. "Do you have raspberry lemonade?" she asked, eyes still on the menu.

"Yeah, I could whip that up for you--wait.. Serena?"

Serena froze, the waitress's voice suddenly sounding familiar to her. Mechanically she tilted her head up to look into the face of a wide-eyed redhead. And it wasn't Molly. It was.. _'Gasps!' _"Liz?"

Liz, as in Elizabeth Prince. As in Andrew's younger sister, Elizabeth Prince. _'As in ohshitohshitohshit.'_

The looks on Haruka and Michiru's faces were enough to make Serena realize her face must've paled three shades. Quickly she forced her slightly open and aghast mouth into a smile. Of sorts. "How are you?"

The girl didn't seem to notice the shock that graced Serena's face and replied, "Not too bad, yourself?"

"Great, just great," she said, hoping it didn't sound too bitter. "These are my friends, Haruka and Michiru. Guys, this is Liz Prince."

As the three engage in the ten-second pleasantries, Serena took a moment to personally regroup. _'Oh shit. Shit-shit. Please don't tell me--'_

And the attention was turned back to her when Liz said, "Wow, I can't believe this. I haven't seen you since high school."

Haruka raised her eyebrow. "You two went to school together?"

Liz replied before Serena could. "Sort of. I was a freshman when she was a senior. But she hung out with my brother, Andrew."

Serena tried not to wince since three pairs of eyes were on her. And since she couldn't think of anything to respond with, Michiru asked, "Oh?"

"Actually, he's in the back right now," Liz piped up, motioning to the back counter of the restaurant.

_'SHITSHITSHITSHIT.' _"Really?"

"Yeah, give me one second and I'll go grab him," she smiled and turned and left without giving Serena a moment to shout out, "No!" Panicked, she glanced at Haruka and Michiru. Haruka spoke first. "Let me guess.."

Serena nodded. "Darien's best friend. The one who liked me."

"Should we go?" Michiru asked softly.

"No, no," Serena said, swallowing the huge lump in her throat, "I can handle him. Really."

"And if she can't," Haruka added, "I sure will."

The tension in Serena's spine loosened and she gave a short laugh. "At least you didn't crack your knuckles when you said that."

And with that, Liz returned with a glum face that made Serena want to kick her heels up in relief. "He must've just stepped out."

"That's all right," Serena said, with a smile oh-so-genuine, "Maybe next time." _'Yeah, right!'_

Liz left once again to gather their drinks, leaving Haruka and Michiru with inquisitive expressions directed at their blonde friend. "Explain," they said in unison.

So Serena told them. About how she used to go to Trudie's with Darien and Andrew and about that day in her journal. The day Raye announced to everyone that she was infatuated with Darien. Michiru shook her head slowly after Serena was finished with the tale. "What did you do afterward?"

Serena smiled bitterly. "I ran home, cried for two days, then went back to school. By that time everyone heard about how Andrew almost made the worst social slip-up of his high school career and how Darien rejected the girl no one even knew went to their school. Raye spared no one the story."

"And then?" Haruka asked, and Serena noticed that while one hand was holding on to Michiru's under the table, the other was clenched tight.

Serena shrugged, wanting to look nonchalant. "I stopped talking to all of them and waited until the story died down. It really only took a week." _'A week of hell on earth and the pure torture of having classes with Darien.' _But she didn't say that, not unless she wanted Haruka to get more angry for her. The dirty blonde did, anyway.

"Relax," Serena said, trying to laugh, "You were right. What Darien did in comparison to Ben was nothing. Really. Darien and I didn't even go out. Which means it can't really get awkward if I do move in. It's not like we had a past or something."

Michiru soothed a hand over Haruka's forearm. "That's true. Had Darien been an ex I don't think you would be able to convince us that moving in with him would be the best choice."

"I take it you're fine about it, though?"

The two switched glances with each other. Three seconds passed before Haruka heaved and conceded. "I guess if he did hurt you I'd have a chance to kill him--ow, Michiru!"

"Great!" Serena exclaimed, ignoring the fact that Michiru just elbowed her girlfriend pretty painfully in the ribs. "Can't wait to tell Mom! She'll be so happy to hear she'll have help--"

"Help?" Haruka echoed.

"You know, with moving my stuff in." Serena gave an innocent albeit evil smile.

"Serena!"

"Thank you!"

* * *

_Ring. Ring._

"Melvin!"

_Ring._

"Melvin. Get. The. Phone!"

_Ring._

"Damn you!"

Darien shifted unwillingly out of his bed, cursing Melvin the entire way. _'I know he's in the kitchen. The phone's right there. Why the hell won't he pick up?'_

He stood up and stumbled a little on his way to the kitchen, hoping Melvin would see just how pissed off he was. _'Very, very pissed,' _he thought as he pinned his "I hope you die" stare at his soon-to-be-ex-roommate. Melvin just smiled psuedo-ignorantly and went back to packing his share of the appliances.

Callously Darien pulled the wireless phone from its charger and pressed the "talk" button. "Hello?"

"Darien," a soft voice answered, "It's Serena."

His breath hitched at her name, since he knew why she was calling, the only reason she'd call him. "So.. Have you decided?"

"Yes."

"And..?"

"Before I say it," she blurted after a pause that lasted almost an eternity, "I just want you to know my decision has nothing to do with you."

He laughed, though it was a nervous kind of laughter. "Of course not." _'How could anything be when it comes to her?'_

He would've asked but he was smart enough not to. That, and she quickly added, "It won't make you happy, but I've decided that I'm going to move in."

_'No way.' _"Really?" _'No way.'_

_'No, I was just kidding. Geez.' _"Yes," she gritted through her teeth, "I can't be bullied into giving the lease up and since there's no way I can bully _you_ into leaving, that will have to do.."

Silence.

_'Isn't he going to say anything?' _"..So I'll be packed and ready to move in by tomorrow." She finished that and received nothing but the slight passing of some static. She peeled the phone from her face and looked at it, certain that they'd disconnected somehow, but that wasn't the case. _'Well I'll be.. He's actually speechless.' _She chuckled at the thought. _'I still got it. Ohhh, yeah.'_

_'How the hell am I supposed to sound like I'm not rejoicing?--which I'm not. Clearly. Okay, okay. YESSSSS!' _Darien loosened the nonexistent collar around his throat and cleared his vocal passageway. _'I'm just glad that she's not trying to kick me out anymore. Yeah, that's right.' _"Sorry, kind of spaced out there for a moment. Tomorrow, you said?"

_'Lies! He was speechless. Speechless!' _"Yeah." _'Hmph. Speechless.'_

_'Phew.' _"Okay. Well, I'll be out of class and back here by three-thirty or so."

"I don't have any classes tomorrow but I work at night, from four to midnight. Did Melvin--"

"Melvin's things will be moved out of here early tomorrow morning, so space in your room won't be a problem for you."

"Nice. I'll just let myself in and I promise I'll try to avoid scratching your furniture." _'For now.. dun dun dun! Haha, I'm so funny. Ugh.'_

Darien suppressed the chuckle in his throat. _'She's joking around with me.'_ "Sounds good." _'Now to bid a grand farewell.' _"I'll see you tomorrow, then."

"Bye."

"Bye." He placed the phone back on the charger, noting how fast his heart was beating. _'Weird.' _He looked up to find Melvin, arms resting on the kitchen counter with hands propping his chin up, staring wistfully at him. "Not exactly the most suave of goodbyes. But you are learning well, grasshopper."

* * *

"Melvin! What are you doing here?" Serena exclaimed when the brunette opened the front door for her. He took the seventeen-pound box from her with ease before saying, "I figured you could use a little help." 

Serena flashed him an appreciative smile. "Thanks. That was very thoughtful of you."

"Well, it was the least I could do, seeing as how all of this was last minute."

_'Yeah, and that he trapped me into moving in with Darien, the cad.' _She nodded and followed him into her new room. "Does Darien have a coffee machine?"

Melvin set the box down gently and turned to her. "Of course. He has to have one of those for the major he's in."

Serena raised an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"Chemistry. The man wants to go to pharmacy school."

"That man wants to die!" Serena added. Shock hit her like an unexpected wave. Darien, a chemistry major? And she thought she had it bad! He must be taking all sorts of high-level classes with labs and tutoring.. _'And he still made time to meet me at the Silver Moon.'_

Melvin read her face like a book. "He doesn't have much of a social life, just stays home and studies.. and logs on to Reunion."

_'How weird. How shocking--oh why am I so damn impressed now?' _"Well, my classes are enough of an excuse for me to get caffeinated. Not to mention working with your uncle."

He laughed. "Yeah. He's a hard man to keep up with."

"Hey, Serena!" a voice called down the hallway, "Where do you want us to put this?"

Both Melvin and Serena traced the voice to the front door, where Haruka and Michiru stood each with a box and suitcase in either hand. "Sorry, guys. Right over here," she said, taking the suitcase from Michiru and leading them into her room.

She waited until her things were set down before she began introductions. "Melvin, these are my friends, Haruka and Michiru. Guys, this is Darien's old roommate and a high school acquaintance of mine, Melvin."

Michiru was polite and said all the proper things, "hello", "nice to meet you", and so on. Haruka was a little more.. subtle.

"You're the guy who tricked Serena into living with this creep, right?"

Serena's eyes almost bulged out of her head. _'Dammit, Tenou!' _It wasn't Melvin's fault that Darien was an asshole in high school. Had she seen him for what he really was then, living with him would have been more bearable now. _'That and I wouldn't be in any way attracted to him.. Eep! Just kidding!'_

Melvin smirked. "I guess so. But Darien's no creep. An asshole, most definitely, but not a creep."

"And this we can all agree on," Serena said quickly before Haruka could say anything more. "Haruka, could you go help my mom?"

And so the day passed without much more of Haruka's offhand comments and Melvin's fast rebuttals. Michiru wisely kept her distance while Serena tried to explain away their behavior to her mother. By the time she set the last box down her nerves were all but shot. Things only improved when Melvin took off, saying goodbye to Serena with a promise to stay in touch over Reunion.

When she was sure he was at least waiting for an elevator, she cried out, "Haruka, I could kill you!"

Haruka sniffed indifferently. "You could try, but it'd be less embarrassing for you if you didn't." She strolled through the living room, hands clasped behind her back. "Keep your door locked, and don't have anything personal out in the open. Label all of your groceries and most importantly, make sure he's asleep before taking a shower."

Serena gave her friend a deadpan glare. "Are you insane?"

Haruka matched her stare. "And have your mother, sister, Michiru and I on speed dial."

* * *

Darien practically skipped to the front door. _'Three-twenty, she should still be here.'_ If thoughts could have singsong voices.. 

Darien closed the door behind him, turned around and froze. A tall dirty blonde stood in the middle of the hallway, arms crossed, face stone cold. _'Strange. Must've helped Serena move her things in.'_ "Hi," he began, setting his bag down, "I'm Darien, Serena's roommate."

The blonde was a block of ice. "I'm Haruka, Serena's bodyguard."

He laughed, but she stayed ramrod stiff. That is, until a voice came from Serena's room, one that said, "Haruka, be nice." It was quickly followed by the presence of a girl with wavy, aqua hair. She smiled at him, but continued to reprimand Haruka.. in another language. _'Whoa. It's like stepping into the twilight zone. I have no idea what she's saying.'_

The one named Haruka began saying something back, but the aqua-haired girl turned back to Darien. "I'm Michiru, a friend of Serena's," she began. "She got called in to work a little bit earlier so we stayed behind to set up her furniture."

"Girls, who are you talking to?" another voice asked. This time, an older woman with wavy, blue hair came out of Serena's room. It took Darien two seconds to realize who she was. "Hi," he said again, "I'm Darien. You must be Serena's mother."

She nodded with a smile that made him feel like a little kid again. "I've heard lots of things about you."

Darien had to fight back a nervous gulp. _'No good things or bad things.. then what could she have possibly heard?' _So worried about what Serena may have told her mother was he that he missed the first half of what she'd said.

"--though she says she does, but I just want to know if _I _can trust you."

"Don't worry, Mrs. Moore," he immediately said with his girl-winning smile, "You can."

To her credit, she didn't exactly melt or sway at that. "All right," she said, and took a seat on his couch, "Tell me a little bit about yourself."

* * *

Serena huffed as she lugged the biggest bouquet of flowers she'd ever seen--or received for that matter--in her left arm and struggled for her keys with her right. She was five steps from the door, however, when it opened all on its own, and Haruka and Michiru stepped out. They closed the door behind them before they turned and saw Serena standing there. "What are you guys still doing here?" Serena scolded. 

Michiru spoke first. "We wanted to make sure your furniture was set up by the time you came back--"

"And make sure Darien didn't try to start an affair with your mother," Haruka interrupted, "but it seems that she's the one making the moves on him--ouch!"

Serena's eyes bugged out of her head at Haruka's words, so shocked that Michiru's quick slap on Haruka's arm didn't register. "What do you mean?"

Both girls ignored Serena's question when they saw the flowers in her arm. "Who's that from?" Haruka asked suspiciously.

Serena shrugged. "They're from the mayor, along with a public apology about his nephew's behavior. I think he was just glad that I wasn't suing for sexual harassment."

Michiru smiled. "They're beautiful."

Haruka just crossed her arms. "You shouldn't forgive someone over a few pieces of flowers."

Michiru's smile drooped as she turned her head to the dity blonde. "I've forgiven you over much less, Haruka."

Serena blushed. Being witness to a lover's spat was not what she wanted, especially when she was tired. "Thanks, guys, for staying so late. I'll take you both out to dinner sometime, okay?"

Michiru nodded, said goodbye for the two of them and started walking toward the elevator, pulling Haruka, who was determined to give Serena a hundred last warnings, by the arm.

Serena waved as they left then turned back to the door. _'Mom isn't easily fooled by charmers, and it's Darien! I bet she's giving him the third degree even as I think--' _Those last thoughts were interrupted by laughter. Darien's.. and her mother's. Disturbed, she opened the door and stepped in.

Her first thought was to check the living room, since they might have been laughing over a funny movie on TV or something. However, the living room was empty, the TV off. She looked to the other side of the room, and that's when she spotted them. Darien and her mother were cooking. _'Cooking! Actually pulling casserole out of the oven and such!'_

Serena didn't know what was worse, the fact that her mom was actually warming up to him or that he was enjoying her mother's company. She was so wrapped up in that mental debate that she didn't realize they'd stopping moving to look at her. "Serena," her mother said with a pleasant smile, "I'm teaching Darien how to make your favorite casserole."

Darien watched Serena's blank face twitch as she tried to put on a smile. "I thought that was a family secret," she said, and even he could hear the scolding tone in her voice.

Mrs. Moore took her daughter's reprimand without care. "Well with your sister's and your cooking skills, I'd just about given up. But Darien here," she said, turning to acknowledge him, "is a quick learner and quite a good chef. You'll never have to eat microwave dinners with him around."

Serena snorted. "I don't rely on microwave dinners, Mom."

Mrs. Moore snorted just as obnoxiously. "Oh, yes, I forgot. Drive-thru's are more your style. But one day, Serena Jane, you're metabolism is going to slow down and then you'll have to rely on Darien."

Darien smiled at the pink that was starting to flush around her neck. She noticed, too, but ignored him. "I'm going to change," she mumbled and abruptly turned to go to her room.

Mrs. Moore watched her daughter leave and then turned to Darien. "Oh dear, I guess I embarrassed her."

Darien shook his head. "I don't see how. She's the one that doesn't know how to cook."

After a few minutes Serena came back out in a pair of gray sweats and a black hoodie. By that time Darien had set the table and the food was ready to eat. The three of them ate in a civil manner, with Darien mostly talking to Serena's mother and Mrs. Moore trying to include Serena in the conversation.

Serena was in no mood to talk, especially with Darien weaseling his way into her mother's good books. As juvenile as it sounded, she expected her mother to side with her. _'Not like there are really any sides to this,' _she corrected herself, _'but she could have at least pretended like she loathed him!'_

She fretted about this situation until her mother took off, leaving her and Darien standing by the door. She turned to him, caught his eye for a split second, then hastily looked away.

"What's wrong, Serena Jane?" Darien asked, almost arrogantly, "Cat got your tongue?"

Serena sighed. "What can I say?" she began, ignoring his jest, "I really am impressed, Matthews. I didn't expect you to play dirty."

He furrowed his brow, as if he was truly confused. "What are you talking about?"

_'Playing the fool, are you?' _"Using my mom to gang up on me. That was almost clever."

"Come on, Serena," he said, exasperated, "I was trying to get her to understand that you can trust me."

Serena nodded like she finally understood something. "So flirting with my mom was the best way to prove I can trust you?" She walked into the dining room, picking up the dishes.

"Would you stop throwing everything out of context?" Darien asked as he followed her and began to help. "Geez, where do you come up with these crazy ideas.."

"Look, Darien," Serena said, tucking a blonde strand behind her ear, "I think we need to get something established between us."

Slowly, he said, "Okay.."

Serena set the plates she had down on the table and stared him straight in the eyes. "There's no nice way of saying this.. basically, we're not friends."

Darien nodded. Almost mechanically. "We're not," he echoed, though it sounded like he said it to patronize her.

"We never were," Serena said, feeling an unsettling pain in her gut. "Think about it. The only reason we ever crossed paths was because fate was cruel and mixed us together." _'And because I'd tried so damn hard.'_

He took a moment to process that and shook his head. "I wouldn't put it that way."

"You would've two years ago." She licked her lips in a nervous gesture, trying to find words that would make this scene less awkward. "Our past is so weird. I can't make sense of it. And we got off on the wrong foot when we met up again. This just has to stop. Right now, all that matters is that we're roommates. Right now, that's all I need to know about you."

* * *

**End Part Five.**

_

* * *

_

A glimpse at the next chapter. Part Six. The Icebreaker.

"Don't delude yourself," she said, hoping he would take the cue and leave.

"In the state you're in, you're the only one that's anywhere near delusional."

She scoffed, glaring at him from under the covers. "I don't need you," she sniffed.

"Yes, you do."


	6. part six

**Title:** Perfect Strangers  
**Author:** aquaxeyes  
**Rating: **T for language  
**Full Description:** It's been two years since Serena Moore has heard anything from her old high school crush, Darien Matthews. When he finally makes contact, she is forced to face his version of the truth and her feelings for someone she thought she knew. But will this long overdue confrontation prove they're perfect together or perfect strangers?

* * *

**Author's Notes: **I would like to thank **rosebudjamie**, **hit60**, **raye85**, **SmTwilight**, **Miss Katharine**, **sere**, **SerenityDeath**, **supersaiyanx**, **RoyalLovers1418**, **Calindy**, **skye668**, **Godschildtweety**, **blackacess**, **Edward4ever1992**, **iloveebfanfics**, **tonieboo0013**, **sarahr85**, **sailorjupiterox**, **Immortal-Oracle**, **Gabbyttita **and **Macala Armstrong** for giving me feedback on part five. Your reviews have given me the motivation to keep working on this fic and not give up! (Makenai!)

'Kay as a side note.. well, I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I have to market my latest story, Thirteenth Times a Charm, out to you. If you watch Smallville and like Clark/Chloe or Chloe/Oliver pairings, you should give it a shot. I wrote it as a Spring Break challenge, and yes, it is actually--gasps--complete. I feel that, since joining FF, my writing skill has adapted and become better than I could have ever anticipated, and this story reflects it. Hopefully, you will, too! Okay, done marketing my story now haha.

You'll notice there are less thoughts in this chapter, which I'm hoping to keep reducing until the end, because I want the rest of what's going to happen to be a surprise!

This fic is on 37 favorite lists and 71 alert lists and has had over 7500 hits. Hell, yeah.

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but the story.

* * *

**Part Six. The Icebreaker.  
_"It's what you did that I can't seem to stop reminding myself of."_**

* * *

Darien waited for her to reappear from her room with the bunch of expensive-looking flowers he just realized she came in with to reply. "I disagree."

He stared at Serena, looking so fragile in those baggy clothes. It was hard to believe she was saying things that were much stronger than her appearance. _'I can't figure her out.'_

"We're roommates," he said, quoting her, "We need to learn how to get along. And getting along requires getting to know one another. And getting to know one another means we have to talk. We have to find middle ground."

"It sounds wonderful," she said sarcastically, "It really does, but the last thing I need is something that will only stress me out."

"I don't see what's so stressful about trying to have a civil conversation with me."

"Civil?" Serena squeaked. _'Is he serious?' _"You want to talk to me about civil? You constantly insulted me to my face, Darien, and when that wasn't enough, you embarrassed me. Yes, that's right, you _embarrassed_ me. Do you know what that's like?"

He shook his head, trying not to wince at how true to life her words were.

"I'll tell you," she said, her voice completely heated with anger. She knew she should stop, but she couldn't. "It's like growing up and thinking back on something you did that never did sit quite right, _that_ something being the fact that Raye tore into me and _no one _defended me. Not Andrew, the guy that supposedly liked me, and definitely not you. In fact, you felt I deserved to be.. punished or something, and said the cruelest thing I've ever heard. And although I'm past the embarrassment at least, looking at you and not being able to stop replaying that day over and over in my head makes the spitefulness nice and fresh again. You couldn't possibly imagine how much it's killing me inside to have to share this apartment with you." Calmly, she stepped into the kitchen to find one of her vases and fill it with water.

Darien was speechless. She said it was killing her! "Are you _that_ repulsed by me?" he suddenly asked.

Serena paused midstep in returning from the kitchen, flowers already in the vase. What kind of question was that? He was more than attractive enough--_'Oh, stop it Serena Jane.' _"No, I'm not "repulsed" by you. It's what you did that I can't seem to stop reminding myself of."

_'So it isn't me. It's what I did.' _He wasn't relieved by that, but it was something that he could live with. It was one thing to hate a person, another to hate what that person did. That meant there was a chance that he could still be forgiven. In time, of course.

He simply nodded at the flowers. "Those from Morgan?"

"Not that it's anyone's business," she said, carefully avoiding directing that toward him, "but the mayor sent them. Chad also dropped by and apologized for what happened in person."

_'Good.' _"How thoughtful of him."

Serena angled her head as though she didn't believe him and placed them on the table. Done, she turned to him. "I thought so, too."

"Funny," he said, picking a flower to touch delicately, "You can forgive a man for almost copping a feel but write another man's apologies off as careless and unthoughtful."

Serena drew up, ready to say something, but Darien was right. She could forgive Chad for doing something stupid.. _'while he was drunk.'_ It wasn't the same. With Darien, she had a history. She'd had a huge crush on him. And what he did to her wasn't alcohol-induced or based on plain stupidity. He knew what he was saying to her. He chose to say that she wasn't good enough for him.

But that was the thing. It was high school. Boys and girls and excited hormones. Serena was not the same, wistful romantic she was back then. She'd grown up, hardened. Able to tell if someone was being honest or deceitful, at least to a further extent. She no longer lived in that cloud in the sky, ignorant of what people were capable of. That being said, she couldn't really expect Darien to be the same, right? He had to have grown up, changed just a little.

Darien waited for an awful comeback. One that was spiteful and made him want to punch himself in the face. Because it was true, he'd been a jerk. That was something he had to live with every day, literally now. Serena had come back into his life by moving into his apartment. There was no avoiding the living, breathing proof of the horrible person he was in high school. And he wouldn't argue with her because she was right.

They stood there, staring each other down. Finally, Serena said, "Good night."

* * *

Darien tapped his alarm clock silent, yawned and stretched. Two minutes later he was up and finished with making his bed. Normally, he would do a few push-ups and crunches, but he decided to save the routine for tonight. He walked to the bathroom, making sure it wasn't occupied before he went in. He grabbed a spare towel and set it on the closed toilet before stripping down for a shower.

Serena slammed her fist into her alarm clock, scowled and turned over. Five minutes later she repeated the action. Five minutes later, she checked the time and, realizing she'd punched her alarm clock one too many times, jumped out of bed. She stared at the mess and decided she'd make her bed when she came home. Staggering out of her room, she yawned and proceeded to rub the sleep from her eyes. It wasn't until she was standing in front of the bathroom mirror that she dropped her hand from her face and registered the shower radio being turned on.. accompanied by off-key humming.

Her jaw almost hit the bathroom counter as she stared at the outline of Darien's naked form through the lightly etched shower glass. Bar of soap in hand, he was rubbing at the washboard design of his stomach."Oh god!"

The bar of soap clattered to the bathtub floor. Darien swung the door halfway open. "Serena?! What the--" He stopped, realizing half of him was as exposed as the bathtub.

But it was too late. She already caught a naked leg and arm, both of which were pleasantly muscled. "Gah!" she shouted back, trying not to let her imagination run wild. She grabbed the nearest object and pressed it to her face, trying to take deep, cleansing breaths.

"What are you still doing here? Get out!" he yelped, hiding behind the door.

"Okay, okay!" she answered through the towel, running out of the room.

Darien sunk back in the stall, relief almost immediate. Not that he'd hadn't ever shown a girl his naked body, but it was _Serena Moore_. _'Geez.'_

Only then did it hit him, and he slid the door open once again to confirm that it was true. Serena had taken his towel.

"SERENA GET BACK HERE!"

* * *

Serena shook her head as she beat the eggs she'd cracked into a bowl, trying to erase the thought of _naked_ Darien from her mind. He was _naked_! Her hand picked up the pace, and she blew some hair out of her eyes. _'No, Serena, do _not_ go there. Do not give Darien Matthews a chance to jump back into your hot books. GAHHH!' _So trapped was she in the _'GAHHH!' _part of her thoughts that she didn't realize Darien entered the kitchen until he was reaching across her to place two pieces of toast in the toaster. She jumped, spilling a bit of egg on the counter. "Nice," she heard behind her.

Darien knew that he shouldn't have said that, shouldn't have baited her. After all, she did come back and throw the towel in the bathroom.. and _straight into the_ _toilet_. Really. He should've been thankful--no, no _grateful_--that he had to yank the dripping-with-mystery-water towel out of the toilet bowl, hold it against his body and run straight to his room so he could find a dry towel, the only one being a sweaty gym towel at the bottom of his laundry pile.

"Thanks, but just so you know, I'm docking that from your share," she said, pointing the fork at the scattered egg.

"Oh you're making me breakfast? Thank you, honey, but I usually skip breakfast," Darien said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

_'Ass!' _"You know, I'm not a morning person, and those smartass comments of yours are really making me regret not taking a video camera with me while you were singing alongside Sara Bareilles in the shower."

"I wasn't singing," Darien flared, "I was humming, and don't think that because you're not a morning person I'm not going to take the last cup of coffee--"

Serena whirled around, looking at the travel mug in his hand. "You wouldn't dare!"

His grin was snide. Tipping his mug in mock salute to her, he said, "I'll see you tonight."

_'With my coffee, I don't think so!' _She lunged at him, catching him by surprise, and the coffee from the mug sloshed out. They both yelped as brown lukewarm liquid splashed against both their shirts.

"Look what you did!" Darien cried out, his eyes murderous.

"Me?" she snapped, unrepentent. "_You_ tipped the mug!"

"I did not! You lunged!"

"Did not! You jumped back!"

"Great!" Darien said, glaring even as his eyes searched for a paper towel, "Now I'm going to be late for class!"

She looked down at her ruined shirt. "So am I!"

He recalled the times in high school that she'd barge into class late, looking like she'd just ran a marathon. "That's not unusual for you," he muttered, looking around for something to clean himself off with.

Serena's eyes narrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what I said," he replied absent-mindedly. "Grab me a paper towel would you?"

_'Don't do it! Okay, do it, but be resentful.' _"I'm not your slave," Serena said, turning around to scan the counter.

Darien lifted his head to the heavens, his eyes straining to find inner peace on the ceiling. "God, Serena, for one split second, could you please stop turning everything into an argument?"

She paused. "Maybe if you learned some manners--"

"I'm not just talking about right now," Darien said, using his hands for emphasis. "I mean this entire morning. It's like everything I do--drink coffee, take a shower, oh, and breathe--seems to offend you. Or maybe you think I'm out to get you. All I know is that damn paranoia of yours is killing _me_!"

For once, Serena was quiet. Finally, she found a paper towel roll and quietly handed him a sheet. He dried himself off. She watched him. Quietly.

When he was done, she crossed her arms, indicating their conversation wasn't over. "Fine," she said, "I'll concede to the fact that I'm still stuck on self-victimization mode."

_'She just _now _realizes this!' _"How gracious of you," he seethed, patting the coffee stain on his shirt.

Serena's mouth went a bit dry as she saw his form under the snug piece of wet shirt. _'No one else would look that good with coffee on--NO! Nonono..' _She turned her head, trying not to let the sight heat her face up. "I can't help it," she said, hoping talking would distract her mind, "Defense mechanism. Every time I talk to you I lose all rationale."

He paused. _'Did she really admit that?' _"Why are you telling me this now?"

_'Because you just distracted me with that whole big wet-shirt-clingling-to-your-body thing.' _Serena turned back to him, hoping her face had gone back to its usual pale tone. _'Why is he still attractive to me?' _"Because I.. I.." _'I'm not crazy. I don't just hold grudges. I want to forgive you, but that little part of me is telling me to hold back.'_

Darien watched as her face went blank. _'Is she going to answer me? Does she even have an answer?' _Her eyes flickered, and he realized that maybe she wasn't ready to admit that she was wrong. Boy, did he understand that feeling.

He cleared his throat. "I have to go," he murmured.

* * *

Serena stared glumly at her dinner. A week had passed since that first awful morning with Darien. A week since her realization that Darien and she weren't high school seniors anymore. Despite her last conversation with Mina, despite her trip down memory lane with her old journal, she knew that holding the past against him wasn't going to lead anywhere. That was not the way to heal. With ex-boyfriend Ben, she didn't make it a point to relive the painful details leading to her broken heart. She chose to put those in the backburner and get on with her life.

_'Darien shouldn't be an exception.'_

The only problem was, after that morning, Darien had avoided her like the plague. He woke up earlier and was out the door before she even got out of bed. When she came home, he was already locked in his bedroom, light on until after she turned in for the night. It wasn't right. Call her crazy, but Darien cooping himself up in his room wasn't her idea of sharing an apartment.

"It could be worse," a voice broke into her thoughts.

She sighed, finally picking her knife and fork up and cutting into her steak. "Yeah," she said, absent-mindedly, "He could've been chasing me down with water balloons." _'Though that would be infinitely better than what he's doing now.. pure isolation.'_

Haruka and Michiru switched glances, a motion Serena caught but didn't bother to comment on. "I was actually referring to the overcooked meat," Haruka said, stabbing hers viciously, "but if you like well, well done, you should tell Michiru I didn't screw up."

Serena popped a piece in her mouth, forcing herself to chew smoothly. "She didn't screw up," she said through munches.

"Believable," Haruka muttered, glaring at her sliced piece.

Michiru excused herself for a second and came back with some sashimi for her and Haruka to share. When she was finished with one slice, she turned to Serena. "I take it things have not blown over with Darien?"

Serena shook her head readily. "We've lapsed into a highly passive-agressive impasse."

Michiru gave her a sympathetic smile. "Been there."

Serena had to force herself not to laugh in front of Haruka, especially when Haruka had that struck-by-a-bus look on her face. "What did you do, then, to get things back to normal?"

Michiru shrugged and geez, did anything look bad when she did it? "I found mutual ground, but with you and Darien, that may be more difficult to do."

Serena nodded, then a thought struck her. "Maybe not."

* * *

Darien ran a hand through his hair as he approached the door to the apartment. He couldn't believe how long he'd held out, trying to stay away from Serena. Give her space. Although it sounded like that wall she'd built around her was shaking a little that one morning, he didn't want to push his luck. The last thing he wanted was to do something that would change her mind and make her think he was the bad guy again.

_'Well, guess I gotta go in sometime. I can't camp out in the hallway.. or could I?' _He sighed as he opened the door and walked in. And stopped short at the sight waiting for him in the living room. "No way.."

Serena was sitting cross-legged on the floor like a little kid, staring at the TV screen. His eyes flickered at the screen and he realized they were staring at a video game. Final Fantasy VI, to be precise. He looked down and saw that she was, indeed, holding a controller, linked to a Super Nintendo system.

She jumped up in surprise at the sound of his voice and turned around. Just like how she'd been sitting, she looked at him like a guilty child. "Sorry," she said breathlessly, giving the system a glance, "I meant to ask you if I could hook this up to the TV, but really, we haven't talked since you know, and you know.. you know?"

Serena bit down on her lip, hating herself for being caught off guard. She didn't think Darien was going to be home this early. Seriously, she thought she'd have a couple hours to play before he happened upon her. Hence the rambling. But she didn't stop there. Oh, no. That look on his face, utter intrigue, made her gesture to the game and say, "Would you like to..?"

Still, he said nothing. He was probably too stunned that she still had her console. _'I'm such a nineties kid.'_ "I can restart it--"

"You don't have to do that," he said, finally finding his voice.

"No, it's all right. I just started a new game, and I forgot how much you can miss in the first few minutes," she said and slid the restart button up. The screen blacked out, but the game didn't start.

"Here," Darien said, kicking his shoes off and setting his stuff down. He walked over to the console, turned it off, and ejected the game cartridge. He turned it over and gently blew into it. When he glanced up, he realized Serena had been watching him with an amused face. Putting a grumpy one on his, he stuck the cartridge back and flipped the start button. The screen came to life.

Serena sat back down, leaning against the coffee table. He mirrored her action.

Wordlessly, she handed him the controller. "No thanks," he said, "I'm okay with watching."

_'I bet you are.. eww, mind out of the gutter, Serena Jane.'_ "Why don't we both play?" she countered.

Darien furrowed his brow. "We can't."

"Why not?"

"There's no way to do that."

"Dude," she argued, "there is. Plug the second controller in, and I'll show you."

Two hours later, Serena and Darien were battling Vargas. Or rather, Darien was battling Vargas as Sabin. "Dammit," he cursed, watching Sabin forfeit a turn, "I cannot get this blitz combo right."

"That controller sucks," she said. "You really have to make sure you're pressing left, right, left."

Darien shook his head. "I thought it was right, left, right."

"That's where you went wrong," she said. "Try left, right, left next."

He did, and saw Sabin pummel Vargas and consequently beat him. He turned to Serena, completely forgetting the dialogue on the screen.

"What?" she asked.

"This entire time, I thought you were lying about knowing how to play this," he began. "I thought you Google'd Final Fantasy just to sound cool in front of me in high school."

Serena rolled her eyes._ 'Was Google even around back then?' _"Me? Lie about video games? Why? Stuff like that doesn't make you cool, it makes you nerdy."

He laughed and paused when something came over her face. "What?"

"Did I.. just make you laugh?" she asked.

He frowned. "Yeah," he said, sounding just as bewildered. _'I'll be damned. We're actually getting along.'_

As if she'd read his thoughts, she sighed and turned to him, propping her arm against the coffee table. "Darien, enough of this. This apartment is half yours. You don't have to treat me like a ticking time bomb."

He raised his eyebrows. She knew what he was doing? So much for being subtle. "I just--I know how you feel about me--"

"Really?" she asked, skeptical.

"You hate my entire being," he said.

Serena stared at him, trying to figure out if she could agree with him. Alas, she could not. "I don't," she said, finally realizing it for herself.

"Yeah, right."

"Do you really want to question me right now?" she asked. That shut him up quickly. Serena gave him a weak smile. "What you said and did back then.. well, people have done worse to me. I guess I just focused on that so strongly because high school in general is such a critical time for a teen growing up."

"So what are you saying?" he asked, still confused.

"I'm saying that I'm over dwelling," she said. "You and I, we're older. Maybe not so much more mature, but I know we both have done things we've later regretted. I'm not going to be that person that holds it against you."

Darien blew out a breath he didn't know he was holding. So. She was calling a truce. It wasn't exactly forgiveness, but it was better than leaking venomous barbs and I-wish-you-ill eyes. "Thank you," he said.

They continued to play Final Fantasy VI for four hours.

* * *

"Serena," Darien said, pounding on her door. "Serena, I know you're ignoring me. Open this door!"

Silence.

He cursed under his breath. A whole month had passed since their truce. A whole month of learning how to live with each other. In that time he learned that breakfast was an essential meal that he shouldn't skip out on, Haruka could get to their apartment in under eight minutes if Serena had an emergency, and having a bartender as a roommate was amazing. He hadn't known how many alcoholic concoctions he'd been missing out on until she'd stocked the cupboards full of ingredients and began her practice at home.

Everything was fine up until two days ago, when Serena locked herself up in her room and refused to leave except to use the bathroom. At first, he thought that maybe he'd done something to piss her off, but when her mom called him just now, telling him that Serena wasn't answering any of her calls, he knew something else was up. He promised her mom that he would investigate, so there he was, standing in front of her door, phone in hand in case he needed to call 911.

He heard a slight rustling of bed sheets, but no footsteps to the door. _'Okay, time to whip out the big guns.'_ "I have a message for you," he said in a singsong voice, "from your concerned mother. She says you'd better let me in, Serena Jane Moore, or you won't be getting any apple crisp this weekend."

Three seconds later, the door clicked, unlocked, and opened to reveal a very pale-looking Serena. He looked at her head to toe. She was in loose pajamas, but he could see how thin she'd become in only two days. Hair disheveled, she stared at him with puffy eyes like she hadn't seen light in hours. "God," he uttered, "are you all right?"

Serena looked at him in shock. She couldn't eat something and keep it down for the past forty-eight hours, and he wanted to ask if she was all right? "Fantastic," she said, stumbling back to her bed. She dove in and her whole body screamed in pain.

Darien shook his head. He totally deserved that. Obviously, she was not up to par. "What's wrong?"

She turned over on her back and glared at him from the opening. "I'm feeling like shit," she said, sniffing and grabbing for a tissue. "I can barely breathe through my nose, it hurts to swallow, and my head hurts. Like a bitch."

"Do your teeth hurt?" he asked.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because," he replied, starting to dial a number on the cordless phone, "You need drugs."

She laughed bitterly. "You would say that," she muttured.

He ignored her, waiting to speak until the person on the other line picked up. "Hi, Mrs. Moore, it's Darien." He paused. "Yeah, she's relatively okay. She just has a sinus infection--"

"Just?" Serena asked incredulously.

"Yes, you could get antibiotics, but they're mostly ineffective, plus it would be such a hassel for you--"

"Taking care of your child is never a hassel," Serena hissed.

"Okay. Thanks for trusting me. Good night."

She counted to three before speaking again. "Darien, if you just told my mother to abandon me--Darien!" she shouted once she realized he left.

He returned less than a minute later, armed with a banana, water bottle, and a bottle of pills. She stared at him. "What is that?"

"Water and Ibuprofen," he said, handing them to her. "That should help with the headache. The banana will help keep it down."

"I doubt it," she said, but took the pills and ate the banana. When she was done, she looked up at Darien. "What are you still doing here?"

"Waiting for a thank you."

"Of course," she muttered. She grabbed a tissue and blew her nose dramatically. She wiped her nose a few times before saying, "Thank you, Darien, for making my day suck a little less."

He sighed. "All right, if you insist."

"On what?" she said, wiping her nose again.

"I guess I'll stay and make sure you don't throw up everywhere."

"Ha!" she said, "I was doing fine before you stuck your nose in--"

"You forget, you opened the door."

"And you decided to diagnose me. Last I heard you weren't in pharmacy school yet."

Darien rolled his eyes. "Be thankful. Had I been clueless about what's wrong with you, you would be laying there, wishing you could rip your face off."

"Don't delude yourself," she said, hoping he would take the cue and leave.

"In the state you're in, you're the only one that's anywhere near delusional."

She scoffed, glaring at him from under the covers. "I don't need you," she sniffed.

"Yes, you do."

She looked like she was about to protest, so Darien cut her off. "I'm going to take care of you, Serena," he said, pulling her computer chair up and taking post by her bed, "So suck it up."

* * *

**End Part Six.**

* * *

A glimpse at the next chapter. Part Seven. The Truth.

"Serena.."

"Seriously. I want to know. What kind of bet did you make with Andrew?"

"It wasn't a bet--"

"Okay, the "arrangement"," she said, quoting that word with two fingers on each hand.


End file.
